Our Philosophy
At Arcadian, we strive to create wine that fully expresses the distinct characteristics of each vineyard and California's Central Coast region. To this end, whenever possible, we gain control over the vineyard by leasing the land as opposed to just purchasing the grapes.

By controlling yields from these vineyards and keeping them very low (we farm our Chardonnay to 2.5-3 tons to the acre), we increase grape quality. The resulting wine speaks more about where it came from than about who made it. This "somewhereness" vs. "someoneness" concept appeals to us because we believe the best wine is made in the vineyard and less in the winery. In 1997, because in did not yet have a secure lease, we were forced to purchase grapes for this wine. It is for this reason that we have declassified this vintage and have not included the vineyard name on the label

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 itself is broken up into two major parcels: A and B. By far, parcel B produces the best quality Chardonnay and it is in this parcel that Talbott Winery harvests grapes for its award winning Talbott Chardonnay. Our particular block within parcel B is Set 5 which is located in the upper 1/3 of the vineyard. (We prefer blocks higher up on the slope to ensure good drainage and intensity of flavors 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 to avoid sunburn in the late summer. It also helps to ripen the grapes more evenly.

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 Set 5.

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 to reduce the 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.