2021 Ardure Russian River Valley Chardonnay Battaglini Vineyard

Region: Battaglini Vineyard < Sonoma < CA 

Grape: Chardonnay

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: Entire lot foot tread and soaked on skins for 24 hrs, pressed into stainless tank to start primary fermentation, racked off of gross lees into Stockinger puncheon and 3 neutral barrique to finish primary fermentation and start malolactic conversion; elevage in neutral oak 11 months; Bottled unfined, unfiltered and zero zero.

Winemaker: Jason Ruppert

• Jason's version of California cougar juice done naturally, with zero added sulfites and infused with crystals for energetic vibrance
• Juice spends 11 months in neutral oak, giving the wine a lovely texture
• Classic notes of lemon curd and zest without the heavy buttery thing
• Ideal for the friend you are weaning off Rombauer!

More about Ardure
Ardure, which translates to "the heat of passion" in olde French, is a brand-new project from my good friend Jason Ruppert, who has a long history in Bay Area wine.  He started as a sommelier running wine programs in Marin, Sonoma and SF before migrating into wine production, where he learned the ropes of biodynamic and organic farming from gurus like Ted Lemon of Littorai and Steve Matthiasson.  He also worked three vintages with Pax Mahle, Scott Schultz of Jolie Laide, Ryan and Megan Glaab of RYME and Jaimee Motley before being given the opportunity to farm two vineyards on his own and to make his first set of three wines for his inaugural vintage, 2018.

When asked to describe Ardure, Jason told us, "The general philosophy behind Ardure is integrity within making truly natural wines from the ground up. Conscious farming, attentive vinification and diligent care for our environment. And I ferment my wines with crystals to increase energetic vibration and to also stabilize the natural algorithm within the wine."