2021 Estate Chardonnay

TASTING NOTES
The vibrant acidity and intense fruit that this site is known for are on full display, evoking fresh green apples, Meyer lemon, and a pear tart with vanilla cream, all wrapped in a saline breeze off the Bay. For as crisp as it is, the Estate Chardonnay mouthfeel is nonetheless round and full, and the finish complex and long.

HISTORY
Poseidon Vineyard, located at the confluence of Carneros Creek and the Napa River, was planted in 1973 by the Molnar Family to the Burgundian varietals: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The maritime environment of the Carneros grape-growing season delivers cool, foggy mornings followed by warm days that slowly nurture ripening.

VINTAGE 2021
​The season began early with dry conditions, leading to very small bunches and berries that ripened well ahead of the average schedule. A vintage marked by very small yields and high flavor concentration and quality.

WINEMAKING
The fruit for our Estate Chardonnay was pressed whole-cluster in small batches over the course of two weeks. A quarter of the juice was tank-fermented then aged in a single large oval cask, while the remaining 75% was barrel-fermented in large format 300L Kádár barrels in our temperature-controlled cellar. Partial malolactic fermentation was completed on a portion of the barrel-fermented lots to build up mouthfeel that helps to frame the natural acidity of the blend. The various components of these wines were finally blended right before bottling.

Alex Beloz, Winemaker