About this winery

Why Matchbook? As a farm kid growing up in the late 1950´s and early 1960´s John Giguiere was a confirmed pyromaniac starting various things on fire such as his father´s wheat field. At one point, fearing total ruin from his kids burning him out of the house and farm, his father took them to the city jail for an hour stay to impress upon his brother and him the futility of their fascination with fire. John and his brother answered at a later date by graduating from random fires to the...

See the MATCHBOOK WINES detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

2018 delivered near perfect growing conditions in the Dunnigan Hills and the long, mild season is evident in The Arsonist Chardonnay.

Production notes

Chardonnay clones 4 and 124 (Dijon) were picked at night. The estate fruit went from vine to crusher in less than 30 minutes, arriving well before sunrise to ensure the fresh, fruit flavors were preserved. A yeast cocktail mixture was used (a mixture of the winemaker’s favorite compatible yeasts) in all of the lots to ensure that complex fermentation characters evolved. These lots were barrel fermented, with frequent stirring of the lees. 100% of the barrel lots went through malolactic fermentation. 10% of the finest barrel lots were selected and allowed to age an additional five months while maintaining a frequent stirring program. The barrels were evaluated again and only half of the original top 10% were selected for the final blend of the 2018 Arsonist Chardonnay.

Tasting notes

This luscious blend features best barrel lots of estate-grown fruit and perfectly displays the house style of extreme balance of fruit and oak. Dense flavours of pear, mandarin and melon are layered over creamy butterscotch, brown sugar and barrel spice. The lingering finish is both crisp and unctuous. The Arsonist serves up the depth and richness you want in a big Chardonnay. Pair with lobster, shrimp scampi or chicken with a rich mustard sauce.