Odette Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2018
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Rocking levels of caramelized apples, pineapple, brioche, honeysuckle, and toasty nuances emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay Reserve, and this medium to full-bodied beauty has a round, supple, plush mouthfeel and a great finish. I don't think it's going to make old bones, but it's one seriously delicious Chardonnay that should keep for 2-4 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Reserve has a compelling nose of ripe Golden Delicious apples, pear tart and fresh grapefruit with nuances of marzipan, allspice and shaved ginger. The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and bursting with baked apples and spiced pears flavors, supported by a refreshing line and a lovely satiny texture, finishing long and layered. Rating: 93+
Other Vintages
2019-
Robert
Parker
Tucked under the dramatic palisades of the Stags Leap District, right along Silverado Trail sits the newest member to the PlumpJack and CADE family, Odette Estate.
The Stags Leap District’s distinctive soils are famous for imparting unique characteristics to wines—including extraordinary power delivered with delicately articulated structure, varietal aromas and flavors. This strong, feminine personality recalls the charisma of Odette, a woman who appears throughout history, literature and dance. The name “Odette” even shows up in the wine world, at the infamous Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, in which a red wine from Stags Leap District took top honors over the French.
Odette's Winemaker Jeff Owens seeks to harness the strong character of the terroir in order to craft wines that are both bold and elegant. The estate is set on 45 acres, planted mainly to Cabernet Sauvignon.
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.