2022 Wayfarer Chardonnay
The Estate

The 2022 Chardonnay ‘The Estate’ is an enticing pale gold in the glass. An exuberant nose evokes white peach, nectarine, Meyer lemon curd, quince and Anjou pear accented with essences of honeysuckle, toasted hazelnut and wet river stone. Fresh and nervy, the wine displays a thrilling tension between lithe fruit expression and vibrant acidity, beautifully balanced by a touch of richness from barrel fermentation in partial new oak. The wine finishes with a lush fruit note that tempers into a lingering minerality.

Each block was picked by hand in the cool pre-dawn hours, and the fruit delivered to the winery before sunrise.  We hand-sorted the clusters before transferring them into a bladder press. After gentle pressing, the juice settled for 24 hours before we carefully racked it into 228L French oak barrels, 52% new. Native yeast slowly guided alcoholic fermentation in barrel, with measured batonnage until malolactic fermentation was complete. The wine aged sur lie for 15 months and was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Wayfarer's 2022 vintage was the product of a cool growing season and warm harvest. Budbreak came two weeks earlier than average, resulting in an early September harvest. Wayfarer received significant rainfall in the winter months, replenishing the soil, followed by a very dry April and May, which moderated vigor in the vineyard. June rains required diligent canopy management to balance airflow and sunlight, which proved to be essential to both ripen the fruit in a cooler year, and to not overexpose it to heat later in the season. With below-average temperatures in June and July, 2022 was a cool growing season on the Sonoma Coast until the weather warmed significantly during harvest.  However, even on the hottest days during harvest, Wayfarer experienced a diurnal shift of 30 degrees Fahrenheit, preserving acidity and freshness in the fruit. Due to a series of prior drought years, 2022 was a very low-yielding vintage, with Chardonnay production down 50% and Pinot Noir production down 35%, creating a profound concentration in the wines. The 2022 wines display both the luxurious texture and fruit-driven character of a warm harvest as well as the elegance and vibrancy indicative of a cool growing season.