Radio-Coteau Anderson Valley Savoy Chardonnay 2019

Radio-Coteau Anderson Valley Savoy Chardonnay is a full-bodied, barrel-fermented Chardonnay from a single Mendocino vineyard.

Savoy, in Mendocino County's Anderson Valley, has built its name on cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, an eighteen-hectare southwest-facing site 120 kilometres northwest of the Occidental winery. Eric Sussman contracts by the acre and pays a premium so he can dictate how his rows are farmed: low yields, green harvesting, organics. Night-time temperatures here can fall as much as 25 degrees, which is where the tension comes from. Just over two hectares are Chardonnay, split between the small-berried, mineral Wente clone at seventy per cent and the more tropical Prosser. Picked in late August, whole-bunch pressed to barrel for wild fermentation, full malolactic, then seventeen months on lees without stirring in twenty per cent new, lightly toasted, tight-grained French oak.

The richer and creamier of the two Chardonnays here, closer to the classic Californian mould, with white peach, lemon curd, toasted hazelnut and a saline mineral spine. Serve at 12 degrees. Roast chicken, scallops with brown butter, or a crab pasta will all suit.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.