Wine reviews
The medium gold-hued 2021 Chardonnay Beckstoffer Lake Vineyard comes from a site in the Carneros appellation, in the southern end of Napa Valley. It's beautifully done, with honeyed tangerine, pear, spicy wood, and a kiss of chalky minerality to go with a layered, medium-bodied style on the palate. This texture, balanced Chardonnay has good acidity and a great finish. It's up with some of the finest Chardonnay coming out of Napa today. – JD
This richly tropical Chardonnay comes from the Beckstoffer Carneros Lake Vineyard with confected notes of marshmallow, crushed almonds and sweet oak. It is supple, broad, expansive and lush, with a silken fruit profile rife with pineapple, mango, and apricot. There's a hint of phenolic bitterness, like that of almond skin, and even a herbal character underneath all that tropical fruit, and even with all the density of fruit weight, the wine remains tremendously energetic with scintillating acidity. It's hard to put the glass down. Barrel fermented in 40% new French oak for 11 months. – JC