The 2017 Cortada Alta Vineyard Chardonnay is August West's first vintage of Chardonnay from this spectacular new site high up in the Santa Lucia Highlands. August West partner, John Peterson, planted Cortada starting in 2014. One of the blocks at Cortada sits 1,650 in elevation, the highest fruit in the whole appellation. The growing season was ideal for SLH Chardonnay, with intermittent cool and warm weather, followed by a couple weeks of extreme heat long before the grapes were ready to be harvested. We barrel-fermented the Cortada Chard in neutral oak and aged it for 16 months before bottling.