Winemaker Notes
This Chardonnay is vibrant, luscious, and full-bodied, a delightful example of Napa Valley expression. On the nose, perfumed white floral notes of honeysuckle and citrus blossom aromas leads to a creamy mouth-enveloping palate with layered flavors of pomelo, pineapple, and mango. Balanced oak offers hints of vanilla and ginger spice, while golden delicious apple and brioche toast enhance the experience. A hint of minerality compliments the fruit-forward character, all leading to a lovely, mouthwatering, and crisp, refreshing finish with length and depth.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay Private Reserve is creamy and expressive in the glass. Lemon confit, marzipan, pastry, tangerine peel and a kiss of French oak all come together. This expansive, layered Chardonnay has a lot to offer.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In a first, this vintage incorporates 15% Oak Knoll sourced fruit in addition to its traditional Oakville fruit. The 2022 Chardonnay Private Reserve is slightly honeyed on the nose, featuring ripe stone fruit and more modest notes of citrus. As expected, it's full-bodied and opulent but perhaps less over the top than previous years—for better or for worse, depending on your personal preferences. It's a livelier, more food-friendly wine than in the past, with a fine, silky texture and a great sense of elegance and restraint.
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Wine Spectator
A lovely note of smoked butterscotch introduces aromatic accents of honeysuckle and orange oil, with crisp Meyer lemon, yuzu and pear flavors, plus a candied ginger grace note. A buttered brioche detail lingers in the background. Drink now. 8,800 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
Powerful and full bodied, this rich wine swirls with flavors of lemon and pink grapefruit stirred into a spiced cream. Textural and mouthwatering, firm acidity persists through a lingering finish.
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.