- Wines
2015 Damiana Vineyard Chardonnay
Vineyard
Damiana Vineyard is our oldest vineyard, planted in 1978, often producing dense and opulent Chardonnay. Its exposure is primarily southwestern, leading to more sun during the growing season, though this site is heavily influenced by maritime breeze most afternoons. Shallow topsoil of fractured Lambert Shale and mudstone limit vigor and lead to wines with great concentration and intensity. This vineyard is typically the first to be harvested of our estate Chardonnay.
Winemaker Notes
The 2015 vintage was the lowest-yielding vintage in our thirty-five-year history. The ongoing drought was only tangentially responsible for the loss of crop; as the warm, dry winter encouraged a record-setting February bud-break. March and early April were warm and dry, and things seemed to be headed in a positive direction. In mid-April, a persistent trough parked off the coast of Northern California which gave us five weeks of cold, wet, and windy weather that killed off the blooming flowers in the vineyard. This left us with yields under 0.25 tons per acre in many vineyards. The good news is that the quality is extremely high. The wines are immensely concentrated with tremendous intensity and life.
Technical Data
Vintage
2015
Varietal
Chardonnay
Appellation
Santa Cruz Mountains
Acid
7.2
pH
3.5
Alcohol %
13.5
Other Notes
The 2015 Chardonnay Damiana Vineyard is another alluring wine from Fogarty. There is plenty of textural richness, ripeness and intensity, but the wine also has the breadth and shoulders to handle all of the fruit intensity. Candied orange peel, honey, creme brulee and spice build into the voluptuous finish. This is a decidedly racy style, but it all works. - 92 points. Antonio Galloni, Vinous