The 2019 Salexis Carneros Lake Vineyard Chardonnay was made from Napa Valley Carneros fruit grown by Beckstoffer Vineyards is now ready to be released.

As been our practice since 2016, our fruit was picked at night under lights. This insures us that the fruit is as cold as possible. This greatly enhances the freshness of the fruit flavors. Once at the winery, the grapes were gently whole cluster pressed. After 36 hours of settling time, the juice was racked to fill a combination of new and once used French oak barrels for fermentation. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentations were completed by native yeast and bacteria. Post fermentation, the lees were stirred twice a month for 16 months at which time the wine was racked and returned to blend the different barrels. The wine was bottled 18 months after harvest.

The wine offers the aromas and flavors of a variety of fruits including apples, tangerine, lemons and pineapple with complementary oak characters. This Chardonnay is a great accompaniment to poultry, seafood dishes or just by itself. With abundant natural acidity which should allow this Chardonnay to continue to develop for 8 to 10 years in the bottle.