Holiday Gifting Guide 2023: The Best Napa Chardonnays
Courtesy of Unsplash | Photo by Tim Mossholder
Let's face it, Chardonnay gets a bad rap. I'm here to dispel this notion and show you some of the most magical Napa Valley Chardonnays that I had the pleasure of tasting this year. You can gift with confidence! None of these taste like sucking on a raw tree branch or like a buttered popcorn flavored Jelly Belly (yuck)! Chardonnay grown by champions, made by champions, to be gifted by champions and so they can be enjoyed by champions. Let's leave the "Anything But Chardonnay" mentality behind us and re-define the category as a succulent and hedonistic opportunity to drink luscious wines from a beautiful region within California. Here are my picks for the best Napa Valley Chardonnays to give as gifts in 2023:
Holiday Gifting Guide 2023: The Best Napa Chardonnays
Courtesy of Palmaz Vineyards
Winemaker notes: The 2019 vintage of Amalia Chardonnay is the epitome of summer. Hints of honeysuckle and kiwi rise from the glass as you swirl. Unlike its namesake, the Amalia Chardonnay is shy at first. But soon it becomes synonymous with the Palmaz matriarch, warm and inviting. Meyer lemon rind and hints of tropical banana balance seamlessly with a full-bodied mouthfeel and well integrated oak. Will do lovely with age, but don’t fret if you open a bottle now, the wine would be a perfect finishing touch to any summer gathering.
OAK:100% barrel fermented
Aged surlies for 7 months
70% new french oak
14.5% Alcohol
3.47 pH
5.6 g/L Total Acid
May 2020
1,892 cases produced
Courtesy of Darioush
The hallmark of Darioush Signature Chardonnay is its progressive style of integrating precision, richness, and complexity. Grown from the winery estate and renowned Chardonnay vineyards of Los Carneros, these cooler Southern Napa Valley climes exhibit quintessential varietal characteristics while preserving inherent freshness and vibrancy.
Winemaker notes: remarkably vibrant and refreshing, 2021 Signature Chardonnay reveals layer upon layer of bright citrus fruits with mineral-driven power. Crisp quince, Asian pear, and lemon blossom flavors burst from the palate and are framed by flinty notes of limestone and gravel. Despite the wine’s bright exuberance, it bears impressive weight with a delicately creamy texture that is sliced by its racy acidity. Subtle hints of nutmeg and brioche nod to the varietals classic traits and complement the long, enjoyable finish.
- composition: 100% Chardonnay
- cooperage: Aged 11 months in 50% new French oak and 50% neutral barrels.
- winemaker: Hope Goldie
- appellation: Darioush Estate Vineyards in Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder, and Los Carneros
- availability: 1,850 cases
Courtesy of Smith-Madrone
Winemaker notes: Bright notes of citrus, orange blossoms, stone fruit and minerality combined with just a touch of yeasty/toasty to make for a fine lead into a lively, zingy palate filled with succulent acidity. This wine is wonderfully refreshing on its own but would be a great food wine for anyone who is a fan of the crisper, drier more balanced style of Chardonnay.
Our soils are mostly deep-red Aiken Stoney Clay loam, part of the Aiken, Kidd, Forward complex of soils which are volcanic-based, well-drained and deep. The underlying geology is the very old (250,000,000 years) Franciscan Series Assemblage, unique to California coastal ranges, which includes altered mafic volcanic rocks, deep-sea radiolarian cherts, sandstones, limestones, serpentines, shales and high-pressure metamorphic rocks, all of them faulted and mixed in a seemingly chaotic manner as a result of the Pacific Tectonic Plate subducting under the Continental Plate and shears both off into an aggregate mix. Overlying this formation is the much younger weathered Sonoma Volcanic soil that forms our soils of today.
All our wines are made entirely from our dry-farmed estate vineyards surrounding the winery on top of Spring Mountain in the Napa Valley. Our goal is to make artisanal wines which are distinctive and are an expression of both the vintage and us, as vintners, but above all else, are wines which bring pleasure to the senses.
Appellation: Napa Valley
Sub-Appellation: Spring Mountain District
Varietal content: 100% Chardonnay
Fermentation: barrel fermented
Time in oak: 9 months
Oak: 55% new French oak
pH: 3.23
TA: 8.3 g/l
Alcohol: 14.6%
Cases produced: 1,153 cases
Winemakers & Winegrowers: Charles Smith & Stuart Smith
Courtesy of Sequoia Grove
Winemaker notes: made from meticulously hand harvested grapes, finished primary fermentation in 100% French oak barrels, and aged for 10 months on the lees, this Chardonnay offers aromas of toasted almond, tropical pineapple, and brioche and teases hints of tarragon and eucalyptus flower. On the palate, this Chardonnay has flavors of apple pie - another American classic - lemon curd, candied walnuts, and an intriguing mineral component. Beautifully creamy with a luscious bright acidity on the finish, this wine is best served slightly chilled.
Courtesy of Haynes Vineyard
Chardonnay grown at Haynes Vineyard is intensely aromatic with minerality and density, crafted from the oldest Chardonnay vines in Napa Valley. “For any wine collector who seeks out luxury Bordeaux or Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, such as Heitz Cellar, I suggest gifting the Haynes Vineyard Vigneron Chardonnay,” says Carlton McCoy, MS who is CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates. “Haynes is a jewel box vineyard that produces next level, single estate wines. These wines are made in small quantities, dictated by the vineyard and highly allocated, so I believe this winery should be on every collector’s radar.”
For the first time in the long history of Haynes Vineyard, a single-vineyard, single-estate winery has been established on this legendary site. The vineyard is renowned as the crown jewel of Coombsville, possessing a combination of climate conditions and history that make its terroir entirely unique: a patchwork of soils, including diatomaceous earth and volcanic rock, an early planting of the famous Wente clone of Chardonnay, and a position as the coolest site in Coombsville.
The Lawrence family is only the third family to own the vineyard, purchasing it from the Whitford/Haynes family, who bought it from Napa City founder Nathan Coombs in the late 19th century. In 1967, the Haynes family granted André Tchelistcheff permission to plant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines, now the oldest in Napa Valley. The three expressions of Chardonnay from the site reflect its terroir, its story, and the people who define its character: What we grow – Vigneron, What we make – Forgeron, and What we love – Corazon.
Winemaker Nico Cueva considers the winemaking team the stewards of the land, making Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah with a sense of place. Originally an organic farmer, Nico has a deep connection to and respect for the land, bringing to Haynes his commitment to natural farming. Haynes seeks to both honor and innovate the classic winemaking style of Napa Valley through low intervention winemaking to craft wines of intent that allow the vineyard to take center stage.
