Our Wines

Heron Wines

Chardonnay

VINEYARDS: 1/3 Russian River, 1/3 Carneros and 1/3 Santa Maria

We are lucky to work with small, family-run vineyards run by people as passionate about quality as we are. We choose to work with cool-climate, dry farmed vineyards that are hand harvested and managed with organic or sustainable practices. Our Chardonnay comes from three such vineyards and combine to create a wine with elegance, minerality, high tones, structure, complexity, fragrant aromatics.

VINE AGE: Average 22 year-old vines

YIELDS/ACRE: 3.5 tons per acre

VINEYARD AND CANOPY MANAGEMENT: Leaf removal after bunch closure to promote ripening.

WEATHER PECULIARITIES: Cool in spring – average to late bud break. Unusually hot in May during flowering, then cool through summer. Good weather until mid-September, then some rain with a few odd heat spikes. Small size crop and a slightly later harvest.

Alcohol: 13.0% – refreshingly balanced in today’s world of high-alcohol wines.

VA: 0.049 TA: 0.68 pH: 3.47 RS: 0.15

WINEMAKING DETAILS: Partial whole berry pressing. No skin contact prior to pressing. About 50% of the wine was fermented in small oak barrels then aged 4 months, sur lie, in one and two-year-old French oak. No malolactic fermentation.

WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS: We firmly believe in the “less is more” philosophy; a winemaker’s job is to allow the best qualities of the fruit to shine through. We are one of the few wineries in California not using malolactic fermentation on Chardonnay because we prefer the natural bright acidity of the grape. The result? This vintage shows pure chardonnay fruit: bright citrus, peach and pear aromas and flavor – not overoaked – it is elegantly balanced.

ABOUT LAELY HERON & HERON WINES: An unconventional childhood – living in mining towns on four continents – fostered Laely’s love of travel, adventure and a desire is to explore and to experience the cultures, foods and wines of the world. Wanderlust and curiosity have led her on many paths including studying winemaking in Bordeaux, opening a restaurant and importing wine in Denmark, and pursuing Master of Wine studies. With this love of wine and an entrepreneurial spirit, she started Heron Wines in 1994 with little more than a credit card, a “business plan” sketched out on a napkin, and an idea to make great and affordable wine. When she started Heron Wines, it was unusual for an American woman to be making her own wine in France. Now Heron Wines is making wine in three countries. From the beginning, the goal has been simple: for each wine, find the best vineyards and the best regions wherever in the world they may be. Even today, Laely continues her global exploration to make distinctive and delicious wines from the best places on earth.

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