Twenty Bench Chardonnay 2013

The 2013 Twenty Bench Chardonnay showcases a bouquet of pear and fresh stone fruits. Flavors of lightly sweetened papaya and mango co-mingle with aromas of vanilla that linger through the lengthy and balanced finish. Excellent for quaffing on its own or serving with a wide array of dishes from roast chicken or fish dishes to pasta. This finely crafted Chardonnay displays rich and opulent citrus and stone fruit with solid backbone of palate cleansing acidity. It is ideal for pairing with chicken, shellfish and cheeses or as a refresher to be quaffed on its own.Our Twenty Bench brand was launched in the fall of 2000 when we secured 20 tons of exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from a neighbor’s Napa Valley vineyard. Our mission for the past 13 years has been to produce a Napa Valley Cab without the marketing (and price) hype of “luxury” or “boutique.” Quite simply, we wanted to provide a great wine at a fair price and the popularity of Twenty Bench Cabernet Sauvignon confirms that we continue to achieve our goal. Now, 13 years later, we are expanding our scope to include a Napa Valley Chardonnay with the same purpose: while many great Napa Valley Chardonnays are, because of cost, special occasion wines, we present ours priced for everyday enjoyment.The fruit for this vintage was sourced from a ten acre vineyard planted at an elevation of 1420 feet in Aiken Loam soil. The vine density is 1815 vines per acre and divided equally among five distinct Chardonnay clones for complexity in the finished wine. Clones Dijon 96, Dijon 76, and Weimer Burgundian Selection provide the abundant flavors, while clones Prosser 15 and Martini 4 provide the the acidity that affords balance and a mineral character. The wine is aged in 30-33% new barrels, sees batonnage for the first three months and undergoes partial malolactic fermentation.
In the fall of 2000 winery owner and viticulturist Jim Regusci purchased 20 tons of exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from a vineyard that he planted and manages for a close friend. He brought the grapes to his winery and had them crushed and isolated from the rest of his own Regusci Estate grown grapes.\nNot having a specific plan for the grapes, he asked his winemaker Charles Hendricks to make the wine and age it separately. Because the particular vineyard did not have a name, one of his cellar hands chose to label the barrels "Twenty Bench". The name was chosen to signify the 20 tons of fruit from the gentle rising bench land vineyard from which they were picked.