Cakebread 2016 Chardonnay, Napa Valley, Magnum 1.5L

Magnum 1.5 Liter
In 2016 91% of the grapes for the Napa Valley Chardonnay came from the cool-climate Carneros District at the southern tip of the valley, with 41% of the fruit from Estate Carneros vineyards. Carneros enjoys a long, cool growing season that fully ripens its grapes while retaining the bright acidity that gives this Napa Valley Chardonnay its freshness and vitality. The other 9% of the fruit came from the Oak Knoll district just north of the city of Napa, a slightly warmer, but still cool-to-mild appellation influenced by evening and morning fog. Grapes were hand-harvested at night to maximize freshness and varietal intensity, then whole-cluster-pressed, with the free-run juice transferred to French oak barrels for fermentation. 22% of the wine was put through a secondary, malolactic fermentation to enrich flavors and texture. The 2016 Napa Valley Chardonnay aged sur lie (on the yeast lees) for eight months in 34% new French oak barrels, with periodic stirring of the lees to add an appealingly creamy, slightly yeasty tone to the wine’s crisp,

Gold Medal in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. They said "Bright, creamy, golden apple, white peach, pear and melon aromas, with hints of mineral, yeast and oak spice, introduce rich, full-bodied, apple, pear and melon flavors that persist throughout a lingering finish refreshed by vibrant citrus and mineral tones."

The International Wine Report scored this 91 points saying "The 2016 Cakebread Napa Valley Chardonnay is a showing in from this warm vintage. It immediately begins to impress as it releases inviting aromatics of toasty oak alongside orchard and citrus fruit that build in the glass. The palate shows a notable degree of minerality which underline flavors of baked apple, crème brûlée and lemon zest."