2014
Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Napa Valley
Bright gold in color. Intense aromas of honeysuckle, bee pollen and apricot nectar are lightly tinged with sea salt and interwoven with notes of baked graham cracker. The ultra plush mouthfeel has light tones of honeycomb and juicy summer fruits reminiscent of Crane melon and grilled peach, yet retains an austerity driven by the bright acidity characteristic of this vintage. The long finish lingers with flavors of freshly baked bread, cold winter smoke and clean wet stone.
100% Chardonnay
- Winemaker
- Kale Anderson
- Alcohol
- 14.9%
- Harvested Start Date
- August 30, 2014
- Harvested End Date
- September 24, 2014
- Bottled Date
- November 12, 2015
- Release Date
- March 15, 2016
Winemaking Notes
Our Chardonnay was picked during the cool of the night, then each cluster was hand sorted and gravity fed into the bladder press. The juice was streamed into stainless steel tanks and left to settle for 24 hours at 50 degrees. We racked it to French oak barrels to begin native yeast fermentation, where it was monitored daily and stirred only as needed to stimulate the process. After malolactic fermentation, we again racked the wines, commingling lots for the first time before the blend was barreled down into 90% new François Frères French oak, primarily Vosges very tight grain, for another 11 months. It was neither fined nor filtered before bottling.
The 2014 Chardonnay is light gold-colored with a greenish hue and beautiful, fresh tropical fruit flavors of pineapple, pear, honeysuckle and a touch of citrus. It is not as dense and concentrated as the 2013, but I love its vibrancy and beautiful subtleties and nuances. It is another top-notch effort from Pahlmeyer to drink over the next 7-8 years.
A bit edgy, with wood and pear notes joined by citrus and melon details. The buttery flavors slowly come together on the finish.
