Clos du Val Chardonnay 2015

Made exclusively using grapes from our own acclaimed Carneros estate vineyard, which we have been farming for more than four decades, this is a vivid and alluring Chardonnay, with layered aromas of toast, asian pear, and green apple. On the palate, bright, mouthwatering acidity adds poise and precision to flavors of apple pie and lemon curd, underscored by oak-inspired hints of caramel and baking spice.

The 2015 season proved to be warm (or even just plain hot), meaning that harvest started and ended early. A major hurdle we had in Napa Valley was the series of rains in the early part of the season that washed off the pollen on the flowering grapes. This is called shatter and essentially means many of the grapes on each cluster never turned into fruit. The low yield ended up concentrating the flavors on the grapes that we did bring in to the winery and gave us some of the most concentrated wines we have seen in a long time.