Wine of the week: Graton Ridge Cellars, 2009 Russian River Chardonnay

The genius is in the detail, especially when it comes to picking barrels. Sweet? Spicy? Or smoky?

Nick Legg of Sebastopol's Graton Ridge Cellars opts for sweet and spicy over smoky. Legg is the winemaker behind our wine-of-the-week winner - the Graton Ridge Cellars, 2009 Russian River Chardonnay.

"It's all about the oak/fruit balance in the finished wine," Legg said. "With chardonnay, it's easily affected by oak, so I use barrels that are sweet and spicy as opposed to smoky. Another thing I like to do is ferment in a new barrel, then siphon that into an older barrel for aging."

In crafting his house style, Legg said Russian River fruit is a key ingredient.

"It's well suited to the style I like to make," Legg said. "The elevated acids in the Russian River Valley fruit, even at the ripeness I like, afford me the opportunity to make the full-blown style without any major intervention."

Legg said he has a nose for winemaking.

"I'll smell anything at least once, and then make a mental note of it for future reference, a huge prerequisite for winemaking," he said.

Before joining Graton Ridge Cellars in 2006, Legg worked at several wineries, including Conn Creek Winery in Napa Valley and DeLoach Vineyards and Trentadue Winery in Sonoma County.

Graton Ridge Cellars makes about 1,800 cases of wine annually, and the chardonnay represents about 300 cases.

"There are more styles of it (chardonnay) out there these days, something for everyone," Legg said. "It keeps itself front and center. I think its appeal to the novice wine drinker is huge in that regard."

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.