2019 Lucidité WV Chardonnay

Lemon Curd-ey, Purdy

A Story: The French word “lucidité” translates as lucid, understandable, clear. It almost names itself.

The Cliff Notes: The color is translucent yellow in a slight spectrum of green. The initial hit on the nose is lemon curd, followed by key lime, jasmine and orange blossom. Your palate surfs a tidalwave pipeline of yellow fruit and fresh green acid tailing out on flowers and a little graham. It’s exceedingly voluminous with a long and sustained attack, eventually leaving the slightest textural perception of gossamer on one’s lips.

The Vintage: The 2019 growing year was a good one, similar to 2017 and slightly more reined in than 2018 that preceded it. That led to good ripeness on modest alcohol and a certain elegance, whereby acid and linearity came to the fore on balanced fruit.

The Building of: The grapes were whole cluster pressed then wild-yeast barrel fermented in French Oak, for 12 months (no new, one once filled, one twice filled four older), then rested on light lees in stainless, before bottling, unfiltered in April 2022.

Ageability: Expect a five- to seven-year horizon.

Vineyards: Temperance Hill sits like an old European Crown at the top of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Only two producers get access to the old-vine Chardonnay that Dai Crisp grows there and we are the sole makers of a single-vineyard designate from that high, late, old, cold, beautiful Chardonnay.

— Jim Prosser, owner/winemaker