CAKEBREAD CHARD 750

Description

Vineyards More than 45years ago, we released our very first wine, a 1973 Napa Valley Chardonnay, and we’ve been fine-tuning it ever since. Grapes for this wine come from the world-famous Carneros appellation in southern Napa Valley. This region sits just north of San Pablo Bay, whose influence provides the cool, windswept conditions that produce Chardonnay with ideal balance between fruit characters and acidity. Soils here are predominantly Haire Loam, a light clay that helps grapevines naturally regulate vigor for fruit of intense concentration. Vintage 2018 The 2018 growing season was a dream come true. Early spring rains replenished the soils, clusters ripened evenly over a long, slow summer—cooler than usual, and with no heat spikes— so grapes reached full maturity right on time. Yields at harvest were abundant and of very high quality. Winemaking We harvested the grapes by night in small batches as they reached perfect maturity. Night harvest gives us fruit that is still cool from the evening temperatures, and we press it directly into tank as whole clusters. We then transfer the juice into French oak barrels (87%) and stainless steel tanks (13%) to ferment. In order to achieve maximum fruit expression, we aged the wine on its yeast lees for eight months with intermittent stirring to enhance texture and boost complexity. Tasting Notes This wine opens with aromas of ripe golden apple, white peach, and notes of oak. On the palate, apple and pear characters are balanced by fresh acidity, and the finish is clean, with appealing mineral notes. This is a versatile pairing wine—we love it with fresh salads, grilled scallops, and nearly any selection of cheeses.