Antica Terra Aequorin Chardonnay 2017 Magnum
Antica TerraGrape: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2017
Type: White
This white wine is one of Antica Terra's occasional solo bottlings, chardonnay set aside on its own only in the vintages when it refuses to disappear into a blend. The fruit grows in the Eola-Amity Hills, where a prehistoric seabed breaks the surface as fractured sandstone sown with fossilized oyster shells under almost no topsoil. Maggie Harrison moves the wine by siphon and bucket rather than pump, skips cold settling and racking entirely, and leaves it on its lees until bottling. The magnum gives all that slow handling somewhere to keep going.
It displays a pale straw color with a faint green edge, opening with aromas of white peach, lemon oil, and wet stone. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is taut rather than broad, balancing orchard fruit against a chalky, shell-like grip that comes straight off the site. Extended lees contact adds a fine, almost powdery texture without softening the line. A firm acidity runs the length of the wine and keeps the mid-palate narrow. It finishes long and saline, with the stone lingering after the fruit has gone.