Nose
The wine opens with enticing aromas of honey, ripe apricot and roasted nut that leap from the glass with high intensity.
Palate
Honey, ripe apricot and roasted nut along with luscious pineapple, crème brulee and vanilla. The texture is decadent yet soft, finishing with fresh acidity. This wine ages beautifully, and can be cellared and enjoyed for years to come.
Growing Conditions
While 2015 brought the earliest harvest in our 35-year history, our late harvest Chardonnay, as the name implies, was the last fruit to be picked. Sustainable farming practices throughout the growing season were tailored to each block with the assistance of aerial photos produced using NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) technology. The fruit was hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard.
Winemaking
Joy has a unique barrel regime. With the belief that the fresher the toast of the barrel, the better the taste of the wine, the barrels were toasted the morning of the day that the wine was put to barrel. The wine is 100% barrel fermented. It has 11% residual sugar by weight.
Aging
6 months in 100% new American oak barrels
Appearance
Golden-yellow color as a young wine that will deepen into a darker mahogany tone with age.