Antica Terra Aurata Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2018

In sourcing chardonnay, we looked to the Shea Vineyard because it is one of the places that we find real depth and intensity in our red wines. Even in an opulent vintage, the vineyard has the ability to hold onto acid and deliver a deeply expressive wine with astonishing persistence.

We believe that Oregon, with its marginal climate giving rise to cool growing seasons and naturally elevated acid, may be one of the few places in the world where one can actually pursue intensity. We can farm for yields that allow for wind and wing between each cluster, let the fruit hang until the skins are golden, the seeds deeply brown, press, without moving the must, for ten, sometimes eighteen hours, and let the wines develop in barrel; the slow oxygenation through the staves serving to both amplify and refine its character over time.