2024 Chardonnay
Our 2024 Chardonnay showcases snappy and bright acidity. Then aromas of green apple, sweet pears, peach pie, and allspice take over. The oak aging features a taste of toasted vanilla on the nose and aids the dense mouthfeel. The flavors are focused around Golden Delicious apples, quince, and even baked banana chips. I love that it is layered with mineral merits and contains a long, dry, and robust finish. Being Chardonnay, you certainly can age this wine. Bottled in April 2025, this wine will continue to improve and develop unique bottle bouquets in the coming years. I predict this wine will reach its peak taste by 2029.
All winemaking was conducted at the newly renovated SVP Winery in Shandon, California, just east of Paso Robles. The grapes were whole berry pressed and squeezed at low pressure (1.5 bars), thus releasing the sweet juice from the berries. We fermented the young juice on its own and without the presence of grape skins or seeds. The juice was settled for 2 days before being racked. We used yeast ICV-D47, a notable workhorse Chardonnay yeast that enhances the taste of candied apple, pear, and floral qualities. The wine was aged in one stainless steel tank; we added lightly toasted French Oak Staves during the 6 month wine aging. The French Oak adds an enjoyable layer of bouquets, including notes of vanilla, butterscotch, sweet toasted wood, cedar, and almond. We bottled the wine on April 15, 2025, with a total of 672 cases produced. Once again, we decided that it is best for the wine if we used screw caps, which enhance the youthful and crisp components of its natural flavors.
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2024 |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Chardonnay |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Acid | 0.68 g/100 ml |
| PH | 3.65 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.10 g/100 ml |
| Alcohol | 13.90% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 04/15/2025 |
| Cases Produced | 672 |
Our 2024 Chardonnay is a dynamic wine, displaying both refreshing fruity notes while finishing round and supple, ending on a nice floral note with a hint of nuttiness. 2024 was a difficult growing season. Our vineyards (especially white wine varietals) were impacted by a severe early Spring frost event. On the morning of April 6, the temperatures dropped to 28 degrees F for over 4 hours. Young green growth and newly sprouted buds burned up in the freeze - in an instant, our crop load was reduced by half! We knew moving forward that the harvest would be lean and light, but were pleasantly surprised with the elevated grape quality. The light crop yielded healthy and disease-free grapes, plump berries, and juice crisp flavor. The summer got very hot; we experienced three wild heat waves in July and August. The heat accelerated the ripening of the fruit, and therefore harvest ended up happening 1 month earlier in 2024 than in 2023.
Paul Frankel's Background
Winemaking and grape growing is Paul’s passion! From an early age, Paul showed interest and excelled in science, botany, and chemistry. Most of all Paul loved the outdoors and working with his hands. His love for farming shows through in the quality of his wines. He has conducted numerous vineyard and winemaking experiments that have resulted in award-winning wines. Paul has studied the Frankel Ranch property during his lifetime and he is very well versed in soil types and meso climates on the estate. Paul grew up on the property and was mentored by winemakers Shannon O’Neil and Jason Bushong. Paul’s father and Dr. Warren Frankel planted the 125-acre vineyard and built the winery, opening the tasting room in October 2007. Paul graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Viticulture and Enology. While in college he interned at the Cal Poly Pilot Winery and worked 2 seasons at Maloy O’Neill Winery. In fact, Paul took two fall quarters off to make Sculpterra’s wines. His first vintage as a head winemaker was 2008 making 19 total tons. During harvest Paul puts in 14-hour days, conducting the pick, crush, and press.
