Jayson 2014 Chardonnay, Napa Valley, Pahlmeyer

Here's the next best thing to Wine Spectator's Top #9 wine for 2017. Jayson wines exemplify Jayson Pahlmeyer's unquenchable desire for excellence and cutting-edge winemaking. Produced with the same impeccable standards and winemaking pedigree for which Pahlmeyer is famous, Jayson wines are at once luxurious and instantly approachable.The grapes were hand-sorted and gently whole-cluster pressed. After settling overnight, the juice was racked to barrels for 100% native yeast barrel fermentation followed by malo-lactic fermentation. The wine was aged in 85% new French oak barrels for eleven months on the lees, which were stirred weekly. Wine Spectator scored this 90 points saying "Deftly balanced, if on the weightier side, offering complex toasty, smoky oak and rich nectarine, white peach and citrus flavors, with a pithy citrus texture that gives this a mild tannic impression. Drink now through 2020."