Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay 2022, Napa Valley, California

2021 vintage – 100% Chardonnay. “Our flagship Napa Valley Chardonnay opens with aromas of ripe green and golden apple, accented by fresh white peach and light oak. Across the palate, this golden wine is silken in texture with flavors of apple, citrus and pear balanced by refreshing acidity. The long finish is clean, with underlying hints of minerality, vanilla and lemon. “Over 50 years ago, we released our very first wine: a 1973 Napa Valley Chardonnay, and we have 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. Grapes harvested overnight to maintain freshness. Grapes gently pressed before undergoing fermentation in French oak barrels, of which 32% were new. Wine was aged 8 months on the lees. Only 13% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation, resulting in a Chardonnay that balances weight and richness with refreshing acidity and vibrant fruit flavors.