2024
Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Napa Valley
New Release
The 2024 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay is quintessential Pahlmeyer: ultra-rich and concentrated, yet beautifully balanced with lively freshness. Intense aromas of orange blossom, orange zest, and neroli open into notes of tangerine and Meyer lemon, as a hint of crushed almond and baking spice adds complexity. On the palate, this Chardonnay delivers striking intensity and weight, broadening across the mid-palate with layers of citrus, ripe apricot, and a touch of green apple. Toasted brioche and vanilla bean emerge as the wine opens, while vibrant, mouthwatering acidity carries through to a long, lingering finish. This is mountain Chardonnay at its most expressive — opulent yet focused, built to evolve gracefully over the next decade.
– Katie Vogt, Winemaker
100% Chardonnay
- Winemaker
- Katie Vogt
- Alcohol
- 14.4%
- Harvested Start Date
- August 26, 2024
- Harvested End Date
- September 12, 2024
- Bottled Date
- August 2025
- Release Date
- March 2026
Winemaking Notes
We picked our Chardonnay from high-elevation vineyards across Napa Valley during the cool of the night. Each whole cluster was meticulously hand sorted at the winery before pressing, and the press cuts from each lot were segregated and aged separately. The juice naturally settled in stainless steel tanks until ready to rack to barrel. Our top lots were racked to new French oak barrels where they completed primary fermentation via native yeasts. After primary fermentation, the lots remained on lees and were stirred regularly during malolactic fermentation to create a rich, luscious texture. Selected lots were racked off heavy lees, blended in tank, then returned to barrel for final aging. The wine continued to age on lees in 91% new and 9% one-year-used heavy-toast François Frères oak barrels for 11 months and was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
“Waters, Stagecoach, Antica, and Hyde are all sources for this Chardonnay, fermented in barrel and aged for 10 months in 90% new French oak, mostly François Frères heavy toast. What a wine in 2024—a vintage a bit warmer than 2023, and a vintage that brings more powerhouse wines. As such, the wine has a real intensity character of citrus and yellow apple and white peach with toasty oak spices, candied ginger and a rich creamy profile on the palate framed by golden apricot and grilled pineapple with wet slate and mineral and a long spicy finish. Great texture and great weight of this wine, just fabulous.”
