2021 Dierberg Chardonnay, Drum Canyon Vineyard
In Santa Barbara, the 2021 vintage provided a good growing season with ideal ripening weather. Tyler Thomas, winemaker at Dierberg Vineyard, noted cool mornings, ample fog, and no significant heat events. "Weather during the ripening period was about as ideal as you could ask for in Santa Barbara County." The vintage progressed smoothly with yields matching historical averages. Wines are showing excellent flavor depth, lower alcohol levels, and higher acidity. “We are very excited about the ability to promote energy in wines with terrific depth and generosity,” says Thomas.
"With the wines made by Tyler Thomas, Dierberg continues to fashion classic, elegant wines..." Jeb Dunnuck, August 2023
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Wine Specs
Vintage
2021
Varietal
Chardonnay
Appellation
Sta. Rita Hils
Vineyard Designation
Drum Canyon
Harvest Date
September 2021
Aging
15 months in 100% 400L French Oak; 35% new
Bottling Date
December 2022
Alcohol %
13.2
Wine Profile
Production Notes
Gently whole-cluster pressed as we have for many years, the settled juice was moved to large 400 liter barrels for fermentation where it stayed for just over a year prior to bottling. 35% of the large oak barrels were new, and the remainder neutral. Drum Canyon Chardonnay always has a higher amount of malic acid, and one must be careful not to perform too much secondary fermentation because the wine
can shift from being very fresh to being quite rich as the pH rises during this process. We favor an anaerobic ML that works perfectly to bring out texture from this portion of the Drum Canyon Vineyard without squashing the wine with diacetyl.