Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay, Napa Valley, 2010

We night-harvest and whole-cluster-press our Napa Valley Chardonnay grapes to fully capture their intense varietal flavors and fresh acidity, attributed magnified by the cool 2010 growing season. Barrel fermenting the vast majority of the juice and aging the wine for eight months in one-third new French oak barrels, with periodic stirring of the yeast lees to enhance texture and complexity, yields a rich, mouthfilling Chardonnay with yeasty, sweet green apple and straw scents; pure, ripe apple, melon and citrus flavors, and a long, refreshingly crisp finish. www.cakebread.com. Alcohol 14.2% by volume. Produced and bottled by Cakebread Cellars, Rutherford, CA.