Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Beresini Vineyard Chardonnay is a true textural experience. On the nose, beautiful notes of jasmine, white peach and chamomile tea abound. The palate is rich and round, with crème brulee, almond, and a long, silky finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is one of the best chardonnays I have had this year, with sliced dried apple and pineapple with some peach and pralines. Salted caramel at the end. Fantastic, rich and wonderful. Yet great phenolics. Wow. This will age wonderfully. 200 cases. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Slightly less showy than the Susan's Cuv e and from the Beresini Vineyard in Carneros, the 2021 Chardonnay Cuv e Torchiana is another blockbuster-styled Chardonnay from this team that knocks it out of the park. Honeyed stone fruits, brioche, spicy oak, and flower oil notes all emerge on the nose, and it's full-bodied, concentrated, and textured on the palate, with tons of power and richness while staying balanced. This style probably isn't for everyone, but I think it's an absolutely brilliant wine that will keep for a decade.
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Vinous
The 2020 Chardonnay Beresini Vineyard Cuvée Torchiana is creamy and expansive in feel. Orchard fruit, lemon confit, mint, white pepper and chamomile all grace this beautifully textured, nuanced Chardonnay.
Range: 93-95 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
As usual, the 2021 Chardonnay Beresini Vineyard Cuvee Torchiana is a strong effort. All Wente selection (via Hyde), it shows off some gently floral notes and hints of sweet corn on the nose, backed by ample white peach and pineapple fruit. It's full-bodied, rich and densely concentrated on the palate, with plenty of length 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.
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.