The Harvest
Two thousand two was an extraordinary vintage. It was initially defined by a cool, wet spring, which resulted in a small, high quality crop with intense flavors and uniform ripeness. After the cool, windy, summer months, modest and even heat brought on final ripening. We harvested this fruit on October 10th after the significant warming trend in late September. The heat spike caused an overall drop in titratable acidity. Acids at harvest were about 2 grams lower than normal and we did see a spike in pH which caused concern for this wines longevity. An adjustment of 2 grams per liter was made to adjust the pH and to give a bit more structure to the wine. The finished wine shows some departure from past vintages in that it is perhaps the richest wine produced to date.

The Vineyard
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard is situated along the Santa Lucia bench in the northwestern section of the Salinas Valley of Monterey County. Planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in 1974, it was independently owned until 1990 when Robert Talbott purchased the property for his Talbott Winery.

The vineyard is broken up into two major parcels: A and B. Parcel B produces the best quality Chardonnay by far and it is in this parcel that Talbott Winery harvests grapes for its own Talbott Chardonnay. Our particular block within parcel B is Set 5, which is located in the upper 1/3 of the gently sloping vineyard. We select blocks located high on the slopes to ensure good drainage and intensity of flavor in the grapes. Soils consist of sandy loam and Monterey shale making for excellent drainage. The vines are on 5C rootstock and are a combination of Wente and Mount Eden clones. The trellis is a split canopy designed to acclimate the clusters to sun early in the year, thus avoiding sunburn later in the summer. This trellis design also helps to produce more evenly ripened fruit.

The Production
The grapes were handpicked and delivered to the winery in the morning and then whole cluster pressed using a small bladder press. The more delicate, low phenolic juice offsets the lower yield of whole cluster pressing. The juice is cold settled for 24 hours and then racked to twenty six barrels. Fermentation took place in 100% new Sirugue French oak barrels. Concomitant with the primary fermentation is the malolactic fermentation (a conversion of malic acid to lactic acid). This conversion helps to reduce the total acid and softens the wine. The wine is aged sur lee for 22 months to reduce oxygen uptake and to soften the mouthfeel of the wine. Barrels are hand stirred every two weeks for six months to improve the textures of the wine. No filtration was required of this wine and only a bit of milk was used to fine out some proteins. 1,256 six packs total were produced and left to age in our cellar for an additional 14 months. The 2002 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay was releases September 1st 2005.

Tasting Notes
Sleepy Hollow has often been described as exhibiting citrus, white flowers and wet stones on the palate. With good underlying acidity and a persistent lengthy finish that should drink well over several years. I tend to agree with this assessment however I would add that this wine offers an increased richness that is not usually seen until it has had three years of bottle age. There is an added tropical fruit note and a creamier finish.