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Fresh and expressive, with green apple, red apple, Meyer lemon, honeysuckle and a hint of grated cinnamon, plus vanilla panna cotta and beeswax. Silky and honeyed, lifted by vibrant, layered acidity and a long, energetic finish of tangerine.
Available in store
Close100% Chardonnay
Food pairings: Lobster, crab and other shellfish, roast chicken or pork, white fish in a cream sauce, mushroom dishes and creamy sauces, and cheeses such as Gruyère or aged Manchego.
Scores:
Winemaking: The wine is fermented with native yeasts in neutral French oak barrels, goes through full malolactic fermentation and rests on its lees with daily bâtonnage. It then ages for ten months in French oak, half new and half neutral.
Vineyards and terroir: Lolita Ranch lies on Martinelli Road in Forestville, in the Russian River Valley. The steep, forested land was part of the original Martinelli homestead bought by Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli in the late 1800s; their eldest son Fred later sold the parcel to a neighbor, Lolita Young's mother, and Bob and Lolita Young ran cattle there for many years. Lee Martinelli Jr. and his wife Pamela bought it back from Bob Young in 1999, after Lolita's passing, named it in her honor and planted the steep hillside in 2001 with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel. The thin, well-drained Josephine soils keep the vines naturally low in vigor, and the Chardonnay is planted to Wente and clone 4 selections. The 2022 season opened with ideal conditions after early rains; summer brought warm days and cool nights before a Labor Day heat wave, one of the most intense on record in Sonoma County, brought many vineyards to ripeness at once.
Family and history: The Martinelli family has farmed its Russian River Valley estate since the 1880s, when Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli settled here, and the family now counts six generations of growers. Lee Martinelli Sr., the patriarch, still farms Jackass Hill, the steepest non-terraced vineyard in Sonoma County, planted by his grandfather over a century ago. Today Lee Sr. and Carolyn Martinelli and their children George, Lee Jr. and Julianna run the estate, with winemaker Courtney Wagoner and consulting winemaker Erin Green in the cellar.
In the pictures: The steep Lolita Ranch vineyard in Forestville in spring, framed by redwoods and oaks (photo: Martinelli Winery press material). Morning fog drifting through the forest beside the Lolita Ranch vines at harvest (photo: Martinelli Winery press material).
