Winemaker Notes
The depth and complexity of old-vine Chardonnay are showcased in the enticingly expansive orange blossom, white peach, rose petal, and manuka honey nose of the 2022 Belle Côte Chardonnay. The rich texture on entry builds to a broad, structured mid-palate with a creamy, viscous mouthfeel with intense orange marmalade flavors and accents of clove and nougat leading to a round, seamless finish. A balanced, yet powerful wine that promises to reward several years of cellaring.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So fresh and fruit-driven, yet full-bodied, creamy and rich in mouthfeel. This amazing wine starts with cool, crisp apple and juicy pear aromas, then offers a great blend of ripe fruit, cream, vanilla bean and lemon curd on the palate. Almost ethereal. Very lingering in the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the oldest vines on the property, planted in 1990, the 2022 Chardonnay Belle Cote pours a rich yellow hue in the glass and is highly expressive, leaping forward with perfumed aromas of honeysuckle, candied lime, salted pineapples, and crushed stones. It has wonderful focus on the palate, with a powerful core of density and tension. It’s driving and long on the finish, with persistent salinity, and it’s going to offer a wide period of enjoyment.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay Belle Côte matches ripe fruit with youthful new oak spice, evoking peach pie, vanilla panna cotta and honeysuckle. The full-bodied palate is satiny and mouth coating with perfumed, peachy flavors. It’s balanced by mouthwatering acidity that lures you in for another sip, and it has a very long finish.
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Wine Spectator
This powerful version opens with a toasty mix of spices, buttery toasted brioche and carmelized apple pastry. Offers plenty of plump ripe peach, apricot and melon flavors, with a note of marmalade at the core. Candied ginger, graham cracker, salted, toasted almond and marzipan linger on the 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.
A small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.