Beringer Napa Valley Chardonnay 1997

Chardonnay is truly a winemaker's wine because it offers an almost endless range of flavors and textures to work with, especially with vineyards as individual as ours. In this vintage, I chose to showcase the citrus and butter aromas and flavors at our Gamble Ranch and State Lane vineyards and the apple, pear and pineapple notes at our Hudson Ranch, Big Ranch Road and Stanly Ranch vineyards. The French oak barrels add a toasty, sweet vanilla component and a subtle nutmeg-like spice that nicely counters the wine's acidity. The result is big but balanced-everything I like in a Chardonnay.