Robert Goyette Chardonnay 2012

Mr. Goyette's winemaking ability is better described as an innate sense than a technical skill. If there are 'green thumbs' in gardening, then Bob has a 'purple thumb' when it comes to making wine. This natural sense revealed itself many years ago when Bob was part of the start of the boutique winery movement in California. The 'boutique' wineries were the small wineries that were intent on making wines that pushed past the 'functional beverage' that had been made up to that point. This includes wineries like Ridge, Monterey Peninsula, Calera, La Crema, and Kistler. All of these wineries distinguished themselves by making small lots, vineyard designated, and by using traditional French techniques, which were innovative at the time.

Bob's hope for his new Robert Goyette Wines is that, at the end of the bottling line, they will evoke what he terms "the positive connotation" of beauty, as it is experienced not only through the senses, but also, and perhaps more importantly, through the emotions. This means that the wine's various elements must be in balance according to their strengths...and frailties. High notes need to be counterbalanced with low notes, long ones with short ones, and all of them need to come together harmonically on the palate in order to make wines Bob can call his own.