2019 Napa Valley Chardonnay

Wine notes

Jason makes this heart-of-Carneros Chardonnay as a love letter to Hilary. He follows the super old-school “black Chardonnay” Burgundian winemaking style, allowing the fruit to oxidize for 24 hours until it turns a frighteningly dark brown. As it ferments, the wine returns to its bright golden color. We age it in two 500-liter lightly toasted oak puncheons and four barriques. 

An opulently textured wine, it expresses its legendary provenance with a ripe fruit core, tangerine zest, and nutty underpinnings. Pair with grilled corn with cotija cheese and poblano. 

Vineyard notes

This is, truth be told, a single-vineyard wine from a world-class site. We’ve been asked to keep mum about the provenance of the fruit, however. So suffice it to say that “Hilary’s Vineyard” stretches across rolling hills in the heart of Carneros, cooled by the steady winds off the San Pablo Bay. It’s farmed for low yields, with very compact clusters. The tremendously concentrated Calera clone fruit makes a luscious, “California” style of Chardonnay that retains a beautiful tension and balance—very textured and expressive.