Nose
Clean floral aromas, including
honeysuckle and orange blossom, mingle with notes of vanilla, brioche and shaved almonds.
Palate
A palate
of sweet grapefruit and spice. This is a wine of great depth, with fine acidity and thorough minerality that balance the
vivid fruit characters and carry onto a satisfying finish.
Growing Conditions
The 2016 budbreak was right on time, after several years of early onset; bloom occurred mid-May to early June.
Summer brought consistent, moderate weather for optimal development of flavors across all varieties. Our precision
timing in the vineyard became crucial during harvest, when we experienced a heat spike in mid-September. We
hurried to bring in Chardonnay, then enjoyed a few days rest as temperatures cooled off. Chardonnay from 2016 is of
exceptionally high quality—the wines show depth, complexity and balanced acidity.
Vineyards: Pahlmeyer Estate, Antica, Hyde Vineyard
Available March, 2018
Bottling
The wine was bottled without fining
or filtration on Aug 8, 2017.
Winemaking
Our Chardonnay was picked during the cool of the night and each cluster was inspected and hand sorted at the winery
before being gravity fed into the bladder press. The juice settled in stainless steel tanks for 24 hours at 50 degrees. After
rigorous inspection, we racked the finest lots to new French oak barrels and monitored fermentation daily, stirring the
lees only as needed to stimulate the process.
Aging
After malolactic fermentation, we commingled lots for the first time then
barreled down the blend into 100% new François Frères French oak for 11 months.
Appearance
The 2016 Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Chardonnay has bright straw gold color in the glass.
