Winemaker Notes
Our 2021 Chardonnay showcases the elegance of our Carneros growing location at the southern end of Napa Valley. Cool nights and sheltering morning fog give way to warm days throughout the growing season. These perfect growing conditions, and a mild, dry summer produced a rich, approachable Chardonnay that offers a nose of warm apple pie, fresh ground nutmeg, lychee, and baked pears. The first sinuous sips of this medium-weight wine beckon you to enjoy lingering notes of burnished caramel, brown sugar, and baking spices. The exciting mid palate is fresh, yet complex with a crisp, lingering finish featuring hints of honeysuckle, papaya, and Asian pears. Our practice of bâtonnage—stirring the wine on the lees during 30 months of aging in new and neutral French oak—ensures that our 2021 Chardonnay provides the expressive mouthfeel that is our hallmark.