Winemaker Notes
Beringer Private Reserve represents the pinnacle of the portfolio.
Layered, rich, creamy, and complex, this luscious Chardonnay is classically Californian with expressive aromas of citrus blossom, jasmine, and lemon curd, supported by more tropical ripe flavors of white nectarine, peach, and grilled pineapple. The well-integrated oak shows notes of brioche, vanilla, and ginger spice, leading to a long, mouth-watering finish with freshness and minerality.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has a more reductive and flinty personality with sliced pears, apples, lemons and light cream. White flowers, too. Full-bodied and very agile on the palate, staying calm until the end when it kicks in and runs long. Toasty finish with acid and phenolic structure. Old Went e clone. Goes on for minutes. A wine for aging, but so good already.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Chardonnay Private Reserve comes all from Oakville and is a different beast, with a richer yet still vibrant style that just begs to be drunk. Orchard fruits, chalky minerality, toasted hazelnuts, and a beautiful sense of reduction all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, has perfect balance, integrated oak, and a great finish. It's the real deal.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From the Gamble Ranch in Oakville and barrel fermented at relatively warm temperatures to build mouthfeel, the 2021 Chardonnay Private Reserve boasts a smoky, mocha-tinged note on the nose, plus hints of crème brûlée and pineapple custard. It's medium to full-bodied, velvety and ripe, a bit open-knit texturally on the finish, but it's authoritatively flavored and true to form. About 80% new French oak is used, but a healthy 20% of the barrels are larger puncheons (500 liters), so while oaky, it's not unbalanced.
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Wine & Spirits
A pushmi-pullyu blend of top vineyard sites, this chardonnay sets out to define Napa Valley in a contrast of brisk acidity and fatty richness. It delivers notes of bruised apple, cider doughnut and leesy tannins that come across as both peppery and chalky. This needs bottle age to fill out is structure and for the flavors to lengthen.
As California's longest continuously operating winery, Beringer has been defining Napa Valley winemaking since it was founded by Jacob and Frederick Beringer in 1876. By continuing that pioneering spirit, Beringer established many 'firsts' as leaders in the wine industry. They were one of the first gravity fed facilities and among the first to operate using hand dug caves and cellars. Beringer were the first to give public tours in 1934, starting a Napa Valley hospitality tradition. They are the first and only winery to have both a red and a white wine named #1 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator Magazine. Today, they proudly celebrate and remain true to their pioneering legacy.
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.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.