Winemaker Notes
Pale gold color. Bright, lemony, apple and floral aromas paired with faintly herbal fresh hay and moderate toasty oak. Soft, silky entry. Medium-bodied, balanced, even palate coverage. Flavors of baked granny smith apples, lemon tart and a pleasant saline quality. A softer palate impression than the 2022. Mild to moderate acidity.
Pair with seared scallops, lemon-rosemary chicken, mussels in a garlicky broth with well-buttered grilled bread.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Aromas of grilled lemons, nuts, sea water, spices and lanolin. The palate is medium- to full-bodied with a generous texture, bright acidity and good length. Classic in style without being overtly Californian, with just the right amount of oak and no excess weight.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted as a tank sample set to be bottled less than a week after my visit, Hendry's 2023 Chardonnay Barrel Fermented comes from two blocks planted to an Old Wente selection and another couple planted to Dijon Clone 95 and Clone 96. Cropped at less than two tons per acre and fermented and matured 11 months in one-third new French oak, it boasts aromas of gently toasted marshmallows, honey and pineapple, while the palate is medium to full-bodied, with a plump, silky-textured finish.
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.