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2006 Arrowood Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Alary Vineyards


Arrowood Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Alary Vineyards Receive a 10% discount on orders of 6-11 bottles, and 15% on 12 or more bottles. Members of our First in Line club receive 20% off on any order.

Tasting Notes
The 2006 Alary demonstrates the influence of clones, technique and terroir. The mix of Dijon, Belle Terre and Rued clones brings an intense tropical note to the bouquet. The traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques add a creamy, nutty, toasted component to the nose and palate. Finally, the cool, maritime terroir of the Russian River provides the wine with a satisfying structure and vibrancy. This is beautifully balanced and wonderfully complex Chardonnay.

About The Wine
Fly over the Russian River region and you will see some of the most convoluted terrain in all of California. It's an amazing site. There are few, if any large, flat parcels in the district. Instead, there are endless hills, valleys, mini-mountains and tiny forests scattered chock-a-block throughout the countryside. This rugged terrain offers small, hand-farmed vineyards that rank among the finest in the state. To the immediate west is the Pacific Ocean, the massive, cold engine that drives the region's unusual weather. It creates the fog and the cooling winds that make the Russian River such a great place for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Alary Vineyards has been one of our favorite sources of Chardonnay since 1987. Located off Westside Road in the Russian River Valley AVA, it is a 12-acre, hillside property surrounded by oaks, coyote brush and neighboring vineyards. It is cool and rocky, low-yielding, and planted to the Belle Terre, Dijon and Rued clones of Chardonnay. We have been bottling a small portion of Alary as a single-vineyard designate since the 2000 vintage.


Varietal Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: Sonoma County
Viticultural Area: Russian River Valley
Vineyard: Alary Vineyards
Harvest Dates: September 8 through September 21, 2006
Average Sugar at Harvest: 23.4° Brix
Average pH (Harvest/Bottling): 3.5/3.8
Average Total Acid (Harvest/Bottling): .73g per 100ml/.44g per 100ml
Alcohol by Volume: 14.2%
Fermentation/Aging: 100% barrel fermentation; 100% malolactic fermentation; lots aged separately in French oak barrels for eight months; select lots blended and returned to French oak barrels for an additional six months of aging; total of 14 months in French oak.
Release Date: May 2009
Total Production: 274 cases


View winemaker's notes for another vintage of this wine:
  
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