($60) Light gold color. Suave and understated, with a sexy bouquet of tangerine, white flowers, minerals and mace. Juicy citrus and orchard fruit flavors offer excellent clarity and mineral snap, picking up zesty spices with air. A silky, elegant wine, with outstanding finishing clarity and persistence. This vineyard is planted to the Wente clone, from cuttings that Rochioli got from Kistler.

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The newest single vineyard offering, the 2006 Chardonnay Sweetwater Vineyard, emerges from a spectacular hillside site planted with an Old Wente clone. It displays a distinctive minerality along with superb notes of white fruits, cold steel, citrus oils, and spring flowers. Reminiscent of a Chevalier-Montrachet from Burgundy, this beautiful, long, concentrated Chardonnay with great acidity should last for 6-10 years.

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A rich, fruity, concentrated style, with smoky fig, apricot, honey and butterscotch flavors that are full-bodied and long and persistent on the finish.

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Part of my experiment with aging whites - I had been buying some of the single vineyard Rochioli chards. I thought it was ok overall - my wife didn't exactly care for it. It definitely wasn't worth the $50-$60 we paid. Memory seems to me that it was a bit on the fatty side, but not by much. Looking forward to see how my others shape up after laying down a bit longer. Overall - this was a great $30 bottle of wine though.