Wine Specs
Vintage
2020
Varietal
Chardonnay
Appellation
Eola-Amity
Alcohol %
13
2020 Sisters Chardonnay
We are proud to announce the public release of our 2020 Sisters Chardonnay. Even in ordinary vintages, Sisters is only produced in very small lots — and 2020 was certainly anything but normal. Scarce but exquisite, this elegant and mineral-driven wine is certain to sell out quickly.
Each year we select the most refined and distinguished barrels of Chardonnay in our cellar for the creation of Sisters. We combine the finest lots from grapes grown in two stony Eola-Amity Hills vineyards situated near Lingua Franca Estate.
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
The 2020 Sisters begins very brightly with the aroma of lemons and wet stone, saline notes, with an ethereal aroma of light hawthorn blossom and lemon peel. On the palate it is vibrant and focused, hinting at the brilliant evolution of the wine to come with age. The flavors linger ethereally on the palate and persist in a long elegant finish. It is a monument to the vintage.
Vineyard Notes
Sisters comes from a source close to our own Lingua Franca Estate that has contributed most frequently to Sisters. While it is rare to have Sisters come entirely from one source, in this vintage the quality demanded that we keep it pure and unembellished, making for one of the most compelling vintages of Sisters that we have had to date. It is grown on the shallowest volcanic soils of our region called Witzel and expresses the elevated character of a vineyard whose yields had already been reduced by spring rains by around 30%. We were fortunate to harvest this valuable wine considering what was to come on its heels.
Production Notes
All the fruit was picked before the fires in the Cascades had begun. It was hand-picked, whole berry pressed, settled for 24 hours in air-tight tanks, spontaneously fermented by wild yeast in 600-liter puncheons with no acid additions, then aged in the same barrel sur lie for 11 months, then assembled in an airtight stainless-steel tank for 6 months prior to bottling. The amount of lightly toasted new oak puncheons in the élévage was 25%.
Food Pairing Notes
It’s a beautiful wine even on its own. However, to focus on the complexity and elegance of Sisters 2020, it should be best served with poached or sauteed fish dishes, such as poached salmon or halibut with a mild herbed butter or a light Beurre Blanc sauce. In addition, lightly sauteed or poached flounder or turbot in a cream sauce with a generous shaving of white truffle on top, will bring out the complex aromatic nuances of the wine. It can also be served with raw fish sashimi, rather than sushi, such as fluke, hamachi, sayori, salmon, scallops and flounder.
With whatever you serve it, I recommend a drinking temperature for the wine between 47-50 degrees. One can even serve it warmer if one wants to experience the full flavor of this flawless wine.
