Cakebread Cellars - Chardonnay - Napa Valley - 2024

Cakebread Cellars has been a Napa Valley fixture since Jack and Dolores Cakebread founded the winery in Rutherford in 1973, and this Chardonnay is their flagship white. Fruit comes from the Carneros appellation at the cool, windswept southern end of Napa Valley, where proximity to San Pablo Bay keeps the grapes bright even as they ripen. Grapes are picked at night in small lots, pressed whole-cluster straight to tank, then fermented and aged nine months in French oak on the lees with regular stirring for texture. The result is a rich, food-friendly Chardonnay from one of Napa's most established family estates. Good for a special dinner or any night you want the real thing. Ripe golden apple, white peach and oak on the nose, with hints of jasmine and vanilla. Apple and pear flavors balanced by fresh acidity, finishing clean with a mineral edge.