Our Napa Valley Chardonnay offers fresh, lovely pear and ripe Granny Smith apple aromas with supporting mineral, baked bread and baking spice scents. Full and richly textured on the palate, the citrusy crisp, spiced-apple and pear flavors are enriched by yeast and toasty oak tones that extend into a very long, rich, minerally finish. Youthfully compact, with superb structure and an ideal balance of fresh fruit, acid and wood tones, this beautiful Napa Valley Chardonnay, one of Cakebread's very best, should develop in the bottle for another 3 to 5 years.

Their 2010 Napa Valley Chardonnay boasts an attractive light golden-straw color and fresh, lightly buttery, ripe golden apple, pear and citrus aromas, complemented by seductive vanilla and cinnamon/nutmeg scents from oak aging and subtle yeast tones from lees contact. Lush, concentrated and creamy on the palate, its ripe apple, melon, bright citrus and baking spice flavors culminate in a long, beautifully structured finish boasting crisp acidity and zesty mineral and spice tones. Sumptuous, yet refreshing, their 2010 Chardonnay is delicious now, but will handsomely reward another 3-5 years' bottle aging.

Wine maker notes

Our Chardonnay fruit was 100% whole-cluster-pressed to minimize astringency from the skins. Pressing the fruit cold assures even lower extraction of astringent compounds, which also increases the long term aging potential in white wines. Three quarters of the juice was barrel fermented in 35% new French oak barrels at 50-55º F, a slow, cool fermentation that fostered a perfect balance of ripe fruit, yeast, natural acidity and toasty oak. The remaining portion was fermented in stainless steel tanks, with those lots transferred to barrel once fermentation completed. While barrel fermentation promotes complexity and richness, tank fermentation maximizes fruit intensity. Partial malolactic fermentation, primarily of the higher acid lots, further enhanced the harmony of these elements. During nine months of barrel aging, the wines were frequently hand stirred to promote the integration of fruit, yeast, acid and oak, resulting in a beautifully balanced Chardonnay of elegant richness.

Producer

The Cakebreads show their commitment to quality through their years of family teamwork, their stewardship of the land, their care in growing and vinifying individual lots of grapes for each wine and their public programs for healthy living. The result is a world-class winery that crafts distinctive wines and welcomes dedicated visitors year after year.