Joseph Carr Chardonnay 2014
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2021-
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Suckling
James
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Enthusiast
Wine
After 20 years in the industry, first as a sommelier and then working directly with wineries, Joseph Carr followed a dream to make his own wine in Napa Valley. In 2002, he decided to pursue his passion, learning to make wine alongside Ted Edwards at Freemark Abbey.
Now as a successful winemaker in his own right, Joseph Carr employs a European sensibility in winemaking that emphasizes balance, complexity and elegance to produce high quality, hand-crafted, ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay at exceptional value.
Joseph Carr sources fruit from Northern California’s finest appellations – the St. Helena, Rutherford, Stags Leap District, Pritchard Hill, Carneros, Oakville and Paso Robles AVAs. Carr’s relationships across Napa Valley give him access to lots that could have gone into $100 bottles, but are instead blended to make Joseph Carr wines.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.