The Harvest
1997 will long be remembered as a great vintage for Chardonnay, albeit a record vintage in terms of crop loads. Faced with a perplexing situation, fruit set was uniform and clusters were healthy, we decided to green harvest seemingly high quality fruit to adhere to the Burgundian guidelines of 40 hectoliters per hectare (which we abide ourselves). In fact, we dropped more fruit on the ground in late July and early August than we actually harvested in September. We did this because of our commitment to harvesting the highest quality fruit. Harvest began on September 23 and ended 5 days later. September fog contributed greatly to the exceptional quality of the grapes brought into the winery.

The Vineyard
Bien Nacido Vineyard has come to be recognized as the premier Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Vineyard in Santa Barbara County. Many critics have often compared it to the great vineyards of Burgundy.

In 1969, the Miller family, a fourth generation California farming family, purchased the property. They quickly realized that the soil and climate were ideal for growing grapes. In 1970, they began planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The grapes for this wine were harvested from J and W blocks. J block is a UC 5 clone planted to a lyre trellis on 3.5x12 spacing. W block is a UC 5 clone planted to a vertical shoot trellis on 7x6 spacing. The soils consist of elder loam, a well-drained, sandy loam that developed in alluvium derived in acid shale and sandstone. In a representative profile, the surface layer is dark-gray sandy loam about 23 inches thick. The underlying layers are gray and light brownish-gray stratified sandy loam and fine sandy loam to depths of 60 inches or more. Elevation is 1500 feet and the average annual rainfall is 12 to 18 inches. The average annual air temperature is about 58°F, and the frost-free season is 240 to 300 days.

The Production
The wines of Burgundy have long captivated Arcadian Winery's winemaker, Joe Davis. He has studied and emulated those Burgundian artisans he most admires and for this bottling of Monterey Chardonnay, he employed their traditional techniques to bring forth the uniqueness of these particular rows within blocks J and W.

The grapes were hand picked and delivered to the winery in the morning and then whole cluster pressed using a small bladder press. The lower yield of whole cluster pressing is offset by the more delicate, low phenolic juice. The juice is cold settled for 24 hours and then racked to barrel. With this Chardonnay, fermentation took place in 100% French oak, 75% Sirugue barrels. Concomitant with the primary fermentation is the malolactic fermentation (a conversion of malic acid to lactic acid). This conversion helps reduce total acid and softens the wine. The wine is aged sur lee for 13 months to reduce oxygen uptake and to further soften the mouthfeel of the wine. Barrels are hand stirred every two weeks for six month to improve the textures of the wine. The wine is protein stabilized and polish filtered just before bottling. In vintages where the wine completes malolactic fermentation 100%, no filtration will take place.