Napa Valley Chardonnay 2016

Sequoia Grove Napa Valley Chardonnay is made in a bright, clean style, emphasizing varietal expression and balance. The Chardonnay grapes mostly come from Dijon and Wente clones grown in the renowned Carneros District in Napa Valley from such prestigious growers as the Haire vineyard, the Ghisletta vineyard, and the Cunat vineyard in Oak Knoll. In these vineyards, the long, cool growing season allows fruit to ripen slowly and evenly. The grapes are hand harvested between 21 and 24 brix, 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.