The 2020 Napa Valley Chardonnay sings of ripe, juicy pears, warm peaches, and apple pie, plus suggestions of baking bread and allspice. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a satiny texture and plenty of freshness to lift the concentrated spiced pears flavors, finishing with great length.

Warm Weather Wines
Rosé is the best of all wine worlds, which may explain why it’s thought to be among one of the first types. Rosé is known for being particularly sweet but this one is subtly so without being overbearing and also acidic without being too dry, a fruity wine that goes down easily and pairs well with most summer dishes.

I met with Steve Flamsteed and new Giant Steps winemaker Mel Chester last week to taste through the 2021 Single Vineyard releases and wow, what a range of wines. Everything was excellent but this Tarraford was really up and about on the day. I’ll post my chardonnay reviews in order of altitude or ‘meters above sea level’. Tarraford is the lowest of them, and each from there is about 500 metres higher.
Sweet oak into white stonefruit, citrus and apple, grapefruit. Powerful from the outset. Hand picked, whole bunch pressed, full solids for all of the single vineyard releases. A bit of mlf for all of them too. This is in impeccable – not to mention incredible – shape. Controlled. Powerful. Tarraford should be the most rich, for site and aspect, but it’s so taut, almost salty in its savouriness. Cracking wine. The ‘loudest’ of the single vineyards in that it brings the flavour but simultaneously so very, very good.

This seemed ultra-reserved in the context of the Tarraford, which I’d tasted immediately prior.
Citrus here and red apple, with pear, the citrus both pure juice and preserved. Oak spice, and custard powder characters, are so well threaded, ginger nut/biscuit aspects rising through the finish. World apart from the Tarraford; perfect pigeon pair. The longer it sat in the glass the more those complex, juicy, apple-like characters blossomed, marzipan with them, nectarines squeezed with salted lemons. This is a wine of tight, complex power, the fruit pure and commanding, the finish taut but persistent.

Another 500 metres further up the hill, so to speak.
The 2021 Giant Steps single vineyard chardonnays mean business. They have the reserve of the confident. This seemed yet more reserved than the Sexton, which itself was more reserved than the Tarraford, and yet like them both it feels commanding. Stones, green pineapple, musk and poached red apple flavours, almost and pretty much effectively into quince, with grippy texture even as it pushes (confidently) through the finish. There is the influence of florals here, the influence of pear, the influence of crushed woodsy spices. This needs time but wow what a wine.

Vines here are nearly 40 years old. It’s the highest, coolest and most southerly of the single vineyard chardonnay sites.
Great push of musk, fennel and red apple flavour before toasted peach and vanilla characters power through. Incredibly intricate wine, perfumed, powerful, long, textural/grippy, gently creamy, and then when you think it’s finished, a peppery/herbal spray to the aftertaste. You can see the oak on this but it absolutely carries it; of all the 2021 releases it’s the one most in need of extra time for the sake of pure oak integration. But we have another super wine on our hands here.

This vintage, 77% Cabernet Sauvignon is supported by Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot to soften and lend extra layers of rich fruit. Intense blueberry and violet aromas are joined by savoury wild herb notes, surely contributed by the surrounding madrone and bay laurels in the vineyard. There is plenty of black and blue fruit, rich loamy earth tones and powerful, sculpted tannins framed by firm acidity. Finishes long and minerally. Calls for short rib or seasoned, grilled ribeye, nicely salted.

From winemaker emeritus Ted Edwards (with 90% Cabernet Sauvignon), this opens with enticing aromas of blackcurrant, spicy tobacco and fresh loamy earth. Effusive palate of dark fruit flavours, elongated satiny tannins, crisp blood-orange-like acidity and nuanced wild herbs, with a sanguine mineral finish. At a decade of age, it still has plenty of life ahead of it.

The Bosché vineyard sits on a gravel bench, with a high water table, and requires a bit more attention to control vigour. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are planted here, and each year roughly 5%-10% of Merlot will make it into the final blend (7% in 2018). Bright black fruit nose with pretty red florals and classic Rutherford dust. Beguiling blueberry and black cherry flavours abound, while angular tannins segue to a confected finish. A wine to really contemplate.

Produced by winemaker emeritus Ted Edwards, with 84% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fresh black fruit and high-toned black olive perfume with wood spices. Weighty flavours of black fruit, spice cake and forest-floor notes run up against powerful burly tannins, which become chalky on the mid-palate, while a fresh, spicy finish unspools with intriguing red apple skin and rose petal florals.

In the glass this displays a dark and glossy hue, which leads to a complex nose filled with toasted blackberry, liquorice, black olive and vanilla pod, along with some floral elements reminiscent of dried violets, as well as a suggestion of cool crushed chalk. Beautifully poised on the palate, this is very finely textured, bordering on silky, the texture supporting layers of dark fruits, blackberry, olive and currant. It is packed out with ripe and tightly grained tannins which come to prominence in the middle and especially at the end. It is spicy too, certainly energetic, with a thread of pepper, long and charged. This is an exciting wine now, but I think the real joy lies a few years away yet. Give it five more, maybe a few more, to see it at its best The declared alcohol is 14.5%.

The first vintage of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oakville AVA was in 2015. Roughly 500 cases are made annually, and though it is currently only available at the winery, winemaker Kristy Melton says they are planning to offer it to the wholesale market soon. From an unnamed single vineyard, it shows a subtle, pretty nose of violets, brown spices, blackberry and herbs. Texturally this is classic Oakville, with elegant, fine-grained tannins and crushed graphite minerality, and finishes long with rich chocolate notes.

Sourced from valley floor and mountain sites, winemaker emeritus Ted Edwards describes this as a ‘handprint of Napa’, touching most of the appellations. A 'tried-and-true' Cabernet Sauvignon (87%), it is not overly aromatic but offers refined dusty black cherry and graphite aromas, pretty flavours more in the red spectrum of cherry, strawberry and pomegranate, and finishes with a blood orange and rhubarb note tinged with tobacco. The mid-palate has a nice crushed-stone quality, and the tannins are firm and elongated.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (83%) sourced from Sycamore, Bosché and Red Barn Ranch. The latter vineyard sits across the street from Caymus and was, at one time, owned by John Bryan, one of the former partners of Freemark Abbey. Classic Rutherford dust seems to coat the red and black fruit aromas. It is a muscular red boasting firm, grippy tannins along with tight red fruit that has an almost blood orange tang on the finish.

Prior to 2018, the Chardonnay never underwent malolactic fermentation, but winemaker Kristy Melton introduced the technique to add roundness. The result in 2020 is a lovely wine with a bright nose of citrus kissed by oak. Melton has also upped the percentage of new oak, from between 15%-25% to 40%-45%, and it is evident (though not overpowering) in splashes of coconut and crème brûlée. Fresh lime and rich tropical fruit underscore a saline mid-palate and sweet oak spices round out the finish.

Aromas and flavours of grapefruit, guava and tangerine tinged with white flowers and almonds. Broad and mouthfilling. The 3% Semillon in the blend is barrel-fermented and lends a creaminess, while tank-fermented Sauvignon Blanc delivers its classic, tangy acidity. A very pleasant white that would be a perfect accompaniment to a cheese board.

High-elevation Merlot (80%) from Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain is blended with Oakville and Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in 25% new French oak. Delicate aromas of red florals, plums and cedar plank. On the palate, black cherry and plum mingle with graphite atop a featherweight mouthfeel that is marked by chewy tannins plus savoury tobacco and leather notes. One to enjoy now. 4,000 cases made.

Citrus aromas and white peach flavors with a bit of salinity characterize this austere and sleek chardonnay.

The flagship chardonnay of this Santa Maria Valley producer is another great value in chardonnay. Barrel fermented, it has big oak flavors with hints of vanilla, caramel, and crème brulee. On the palate, there are ripe apple notes and a hint of citrus.

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A Chardonnay You Must Try—Diatom Santa Barbara County, 2021: Crafted by Greg Brewer, one of Santa Barbara’s most talented winemakers, this wine walks the challenging line between opulent and silky and fresh and pure. Brewer’s juicy, tropical and focused chardonnay is an unvarnished reflection of Santa Barbara terroir and climate. Spectacular, and only $27.

This pale gold colored Chardonnay opens with a mild lemon verbena and vanilla bouquet with hints of florals pineapple, and dill. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied with medium acidity. The mouthfeel is balanced, soft, oily, and gentle. The flavor profile is a white peach, saline, and chalky minerality blend with notes of subtle oak. We also detected hints of honeydew melon, kiwi, and almond. The finish is dry and its flavors fade away nicely. The Tasting Panel would pair Chard with poached sea bass or with an asparagus risotto.

A bit of clarity in labelling. You don’t have to declare grape ingredients below 15% on a label under Australian wine rules but here it’s noted there’s 8.5% Central Otago Pinot Noir as well as the majority Yarra Valley. Kudos for rigour. Sort of apposite to the last Fairbank post as the winemaker has made the move from there to here. Doubly so as both wines that seem to be honest, no fiddling expressions of grapes, season and place. Perhaps this hasn’t the weight and charm of that lovely 2015 vintage. Here there’s mint, a lick of Oz forest, sappy stems and wild strawberries. Some lifted perfume, almost incense or joss stick like. Darker fruit emerges. Just enough flavour to buffer the slightly green stem and acid structure which dries things up enough to warrant another sip or bite of food. Must say I do enjoy Yarra Pinot when it’s young and fresh. Maybe with a bit of Otago richness too? Again a good drink not trying too hard to impress.

Notes of brambleberries, sage, tomato leaves, olive stones and iodine lead to a firm and savory palate. Medium body and firm, tight tannins. I like the salty undertones.

This deep gold colored Chardonnay opens with a new oak and Bosc pear bouquet with hints of toasted coconut, butter cream, brioche, and gentle florals. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied with integrated acidity. The mouthfeel is balanced, delicate, and creamy. The flavor profile is a gentle pineapple and chalky minerality blend with notes of oak and Anjou pear. We also detected some hints of lemon and peach pit. The finish is dry and its flavors drift away nicely. The Tasting Panel would pair this versatile Chard with coquille St. Jacques.

This has aromas of plum stones, blueberries, walnuts, beeswax and flowers. Medium-bodied with creamy, firm tannins. Firm, clean and fresh. Drink from 2023.