Our 2009 Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay delights the olfactory sense with beautifully ripe golden apple, citrus and tropical fruit aromas, complemented by seductive scents of buttercream, yeast and mineral.  On the palate, the wine is wonderfully lush and mouthfilling, with rich, creamy, spiced apple, peach and melon flavors; yet, it is also wonderfully fresh, focused and balanced, reflecting the cool 2009 vintage.  With deeply concentrated fruit and vibrant acidity, this luxurious Napa Valley Chardonnay will age beautifully in bottle for another 5-7 years.

In 2009, plentiful spring rains in Northern California deferred the need for early irrigation, resulting in small berries with deeply concentrated flavors. Summer was consistently cool, which allowed for slow, steady ripening and the parallel development of grape sugars and flavors, fostering maturity at moderate sugar levels and resulting in superbly balanced wines.  We harvested the grapes for our 2009 Chardonnay between September 8th and 19th with a fine balance of ripe fruit flavors and crisp balancing acidity.