Napa Valley Chardonnay 2015
Trade Tools
America / Napa Valley
Sequoia Grove Napa Valley Chardonnay is made in a bright, clean style, emphasizing varietal expression and balance. The Chardonnay grapes come from the renowned Napa Valley, primarily its Carneros district, where the long, cool growing season allows fruit to ripen slowly and evenly. The grapes are hand harvested at night into shallow bins, then hand sorted and whole-cluster pressed. The juice is inoculated with white Burgundy yeast strains in stainless steel tanks, then quickly transferred to French oak barrels with periodic stirring of the lees for extra complexity and finesse. To preserve the fresh acidity of the wine, Sequoia Grove never permits malolactic fermentation in its Chardonnay.
90 Points
jamessuckling.com
2015 vintage
Harvest Note
Harvest 2015 was one of our earliest years on record. The persistent California drought and a cool spring during bloom lead to low yields in the vineyard and an early bud break. Careful irrigation and canopy management were key, and allowed our growers to maximize quality and create beautifully ripe and balanced fruit. The wines resulting from the 2015 vintage are some of our favorite to date, the only unfortunate part being that yields were very low.
Tasting Note
The nose pops with an immediate hit of fresh lemon rolling quickly into lemon curd and warm toasted almonds. The fresh fruit nose is balanced nicely with secondary aromas of custard and brioche, ripe melon, pear, and poached pear. On the palate the wine is full of flavor: perfectly nutty toast and marzipan. The mid-palate is creamy with a hint of nutmeg and finishing with fresh citrus.
Technical Data
GRAPES: 100% Chardonnay
APPELLATION: Napa Valley
PH: 3.52
ACIDITY: 6.90 g/l
ABV: 14.1%
AGING: Aged 10 months sur lies in 100% French oak, 30% new
Unique Selling Points
- Grapes come from cool climate sites within Napa Valley, producing a fresh style of wine.
- Ages 8 months on lees in French oak barrels for added complexity
- No malolactic fermentation is allowed, to preserve fresh, bright acidity in the wine.
“Temperature and time are the two most significant winemaking tools.”
Rick Bonitati, President
About the Grape
Chardonnay
Though it has a distinctive profile, Chardonnay reflects other factors such as soil composition and vinification technique. Chardonnay is a reliable, hardy and prolific vine whose only real vulnerabilities are frost and uneven development of fruit.
