Winemaker Notes
This wine begins with lemon and citrus blossom aromas with bright notes of tangerine and toasted vanilla almonds on the finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
All from Napa Valley, the medium gold-colored 2018 Chardonnay Winemaker's Reserve offers a rockingly good bouquet of ripe stone fruits, honeyed citrus, toasted bread, and hints of spice. This carries to a rich, full-bodied Chardonnay that has a layered, opulent texture, moderate acidity, and a great finish. Classic Napa Valley goodness all the way, drink it over the coming 2-4 years.
-
Decanter
A classy, creamy style well-balanced with ripe peach fruit and sweet spices. Oatflake and honey notes, and a toasted almond finish.
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.
As one of Napa’s coolest sub-appellations, the area begs for diversity among its vineyards. Merlot and Chardonnay firmly compete with Cabernet Sauvignon for a place here. Some of Napa’s best Zinfandels also come from the Oak Knoll District.
Situated far in Napa’s southern end, Oak Knoll receives a strong cooling influence from both the San Pablo Bay and the Pacific Coast’s evening fog and breezes. Summer days are warm but on average ten degrees cooler than in St. Helena farther north up the valley; summer nights are chilly. A long growing season promotes for leisurely ripening of grape berries, resulting in an impressive balance of sugars, phenols and acidity.
Notable producers include Trefethen, one of the appellation’s oldest wineries, Robert Biale, legendary Zinfandel producer and Lewis Cellars, a family-run, hands-on establishment.