Winemaker Notes
The wine opens with lifted aromatics of acacia and jasmine supported by a lovely fruit set of ripe Barlett pear, tart pineapple, and cantaloupe. On the palate the wine expands, broadening the frame, bringing layers of texture. Secondary flavors of lemon oil, almond, and chamomile round out the mid-palate. The finish is long with lingering notes of bright tropics, orchard fruit, and crushed flint rock.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay is drinking well, with just a hint of sweet corn accenting white peaches and melon on the nose. It's medium-bodied, with a pleasantly silky and almost creamy mouthfeel (despite not undergoing malolactic fermentation) and a long, crushed-stone finish. Best After 2022.
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Wine Spectator
Honeyed pear and grilled peach flavors show notes of honeysuckle and sea salt, with a core of ripe, fleshy melon and a juicy thread of acidity. Drink now.
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.
Centered at the peak for which it is named, Mount Veeder is Napa’s largest sub-AVA. But even though the entire appellation spreads over 16,000 acres, vineyards cover a mere 1,000. Scattered among Douglas firs and bristlecone pines, Mount Veeder vineyards extend south from the upper elevations of the Mayacamas Mountains—the highest point at 2,400 feet—to the border of the Carneros region. Less than 25 wineries produce wine from Mount Veeder fruit.
Winemaking began early in this appellation. In 1864, Captain Stelham Wing presented the first Mount Veeder wine to the Napa County Fair; it came from today’s Wing Canyon Vineyard. Prohibition, of course, halted winemaking and viticulture wasn’t revitalized until the founding of Mayacamas Vineyards in 1951 and Bernstein Vineyards in 1964.
The Bernstein Vineyards was actually home to the first Petit Verdot in California, planted in 1975. Today most of the Petit Verdot in Napa Valley originates from this vineyard.
Rocky volcanic clay and ancient seabed matter dominate Mount Veeder soils—perfect for Bordeaux varieties. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot enjoy spectacular success. These varieties produce wines rich in brambly blackberry and black cherry fruit with herbal and floral aromatics. Structures are moderate to assertive and wines have great staying power.
Chardonnay from Mount Veeder is lush, full and balanced mineral and fresh citrus flavors.