2020 Chardonnay

“The 2020 Chardonnay Seavey Vineyard is bright and beautifully focused. Orchard fruit, lemon peel, white flowers and mint lend brilliance to this translucent, classically-built Chardonnay. The 2020 is a bit nervy, but all the elements are nicely balanced within the context of a year in which harvest was pushed up to avoid damage from nearby fires.” -Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Oct. 2021) 92 pts

Tasting Notes

Refreshingly light, with aromas of honeydew, fresh lemon, pineapple, and lime leaf, our 2020 Chardonnay is a delight to drink. Finishing with a gentle top note of butterscotch, toasted almond, and vanilla, this wine has pleasingly balanced acidity, showing off a slight weightiness with an extended finish. One-third of this Chardonnay vintage was fermented in a concrete egg which allows for a constant intermixing of the lees adding depth, volume, texture, drawing out the subtlest elements of the wine, including   its unique minerality.

Ratings

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Oct. 2021) 92 pts
“The 2020 Chardonnay Seavey Vineyard is bright and beautifully focused. Orchard fruit, lemon peel, white flowers and mint lend brilliance to this translucent, classically-built Chardonnay. The 2020 is a bit nervy, but all the elements are nicely balanced within the context of a year in which harvest was pushed up to avoid damage from nearby fires.”

Vineyard Notes

Our Chardonnay blocks are nestled at the lowest elevation of our Estate, down by Conn Creek where they are surrounded on three sides by trees. The resulting environment encourages a crisp Chardonnay with a wide flavor profile that conveys the soil’s minerality and cool location. The 2020 vintage is the second to include our recently planted Wente clones. The growing season began dry with an early bud break progressing with cool temperatures for bloom, followed by increasingly higher temperatures for fruit set. The grapes were harvested mid-August.

Production Notes

The grapes were picked in the cool, early morning hours and then immediately whole-cluster pressed before beginning fermentation in French oak barrels. The wine continued to age in the French oak barrels for nine months (20% new) before bottling in June 2021.

100% ESTATE GROWN, PRODUCED & BOTTLED, NAPA VALLEY AVA