2021 Unoaked Chardonnay
Tasting Notes
Our 2021 Unoaked Chardonnay evokes aromas of fresh pear and apple blossom with fragrant floral notes. The palate is youthful with vibrant acidity and flavors honey suckle, cantaloup, and lemon zest. The finish is crisp and clean leaving a balanced, refreshing impression on the palate.
Vineyard Designation
100% Estate Grown
Vintage Notes
The 2021 vintage will be recorded as one the warmest in Washington State history. With a mild winter and a warm spring, we saw bud break during the second week of April, about 1-2 weeks earlier than average. Then in late June, we experienced a heat wave for approximately 6 weeks. During this time, we saw over 35 days of 100+ degree temperatures, with some daily highs nearing 118 degrees! This period of extreme heat began when the grapes were in a cluster and berry size development stage, causing grapes to stress out weeks before we vintners would prefer. Smaller berry size led to an over- all 30% reduction in crop sizes for us. Nevertheless, the flavors that these smaller berries produced were phenomenal! We also saw rapid ripening at a pace we have not seen since 2015, and this creat- ed a very early start to harvest. By the end of August, we had brought in nearly 150 tons of sparkling wine grapes and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, hands down an August record for us at Airfield. By the end of September, we had crushed every white varietal, which was beneficial for us in winemaking as we could then give 100% of our attention to red varietals. October started off with nice warm temperatures and the pace of grape harvesting was going very well with ideal ripeness and exceptional quality. By the third week of October, we did see several freezing events causing our canopies to die. With only a limited amount of fruit remaining, it was easy for us to harvest the last remaining fruit before the end of October. In the end, the 2021 vintage made outstanding wine. Our white wines showcase bright fruit aromas with brisk acidity. Our red wines display dark fruit elements with structure and finesse. The wines created from 2021 will be age worthy and enjoyable in their youth and will be wines that will make a lasting impression.
Winemaking Notes
Our 2021 Chardonnay is 100% Estate grown and was harvested at optimal maturity in mid-September. Once harvested, the grapes were sent directly to the press for a gentle pressing. The juice was cold settled for 72 hours; after cold settling the juice was sent to stainless steel tanks and inoculated with a special yeast strain meant for stainless steel Chardonnay’s. Fermented cool, with max temperatures in the 60-degree range allows the wines fruit to be the star of the show. After fermentation, the tanks had their lees stirred twice a month for 2 months to help build texture and naturally soften the wine, this wine did not undergo any form of malolactic fermentation. Our goal is to create a Chardonnay that is bright with balanced acidity and undergoing any form of malolactic fermentation would deter the wine from that goal. To create an additional layer of complexity while enhancing the mouthfeel and aromas, the wine finished its aging in concrete tanks for an additional month before being stabilized and prepared for bottling.
Food Pairing
Chicken Alfredo
Mushroom Risotto
Chicken Marsala
Caramelized Onion, Apple and Brie
- Varietal Composition: Chardonnay
- Appellation: Yakima Valley
- Aging / Barrel Program: 100% Stainless steel fermented and aged
- Cases Produced: 560
- Alcohol: 13.3%
- pH: 3.59
- Acidity: 5.9 g/L