This varietal Chardonnay was grown in the Chalk Hill AVA, whose soils are, confusingly, volcanic ash, not chalky limestone. The fruit was barrel fermented in new and used French oak and the wine aged for one year in barrel, with bâtonnage.
Its creamy fragrance offers ample honeydew and citrus, plus an ornament of vanilla. The oak seasoning is obvious and the lees stirring adds texture, but the wine is neither too fulsome nor too pointed. The palate suggestion of lemon curd, laurel, and quince finishes with a seam of savoriness.
Pair it with young and medium-aged cheeses, plus fish, poultry, and nearly anything dressed in lemon-butter or cream.
13.5% abv | $22 (sample)
