Mission Codename Salexisexy
Stop pinching yourself. You’re not dreaming.
This IS a Beckstoffer Napa Chardonnay for TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS.
I know! Better than any random dream you had this week, trust us. This is pure California Chard to the core. If you crave that fleshy, ripe style dripping with juicy golden pineapple, buttered brioche, Meyer lemon curd, and crushed rocks… well you’re gonna love it. You could spend many times more to get something similar.
This vineyard was once known as Las Amigas, and used by visionaries like Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Acacia, and Provenance. This prized yet tiny vineyard supplies grapes to only a couple of other wineries - Frank Family and Newton for example. And as you might imagine, those wines cost A LOT MORE than what you see here. But they do flex a similarly flashy style.
Proprietor/winemaker John Gibson is no stranger to making world-class Chardonnay. Not only is he a UC Davis graduate, but he has also amassed over three decades of unmatched experience under his belt. With twelve of those years as the winemaker at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars where he must have learned how to craft the best possible wines from the legendary master Warren Winiarski, winner of the 1976 Judgement of Paris. He then helped create Vine Cliff and next put Frazier on the map. The proof is in the glass; this Chardonnay is truly profound.
Napa Valley Wine Project says it best: “With this attention to quality starting with the vineyards, a long history of making wine in Napa Valley and micro-managed low production, Salexis is certainly one of the better values coming out of Napa Valley at their price point.”
Spicier, toastier, and far more complex than most California Chardonnays, this focuses squarely on the rich, ripe, lavishly styled and round texture that defines the region. Bursting with beautiful overtones of Tahitian vanilla, roasted pineapple, toasty brioche, and lavender honey, culminating in a superbly balanced, long finish that leaves you yearning for the next sip.
No ratings or reviews, nor does it need them to be honest. Drinking like a daydream, it’s a steal for a single-vineyard Napa Chardonnay of this caliber. Names like Pahlmeyer, Lewis, Newton’s Unfiltered, HdV, and Beringer come to mind in comparison to this sleek, fat, yet lithe style. The only difference? Ultra-small production, making this the ultimate under-the-radar hidden gem.
Will a Beckstoffer for $25 last? We think not, back that truck up!
What the Winery Says
2019 Beckstoffer Lake Vineyard Napa Valley Chardonnay
- Winemaker
- John Gibson
- Varietal
- 100% Chardonnay
- Vintage
- 2019
- Alcohol
- 15%
- Appellation
- Carneros, Napa Valley
- Vineyard
- Beckstoffer Lake Vineyard
- Clones
- 76 & 95
- Harvest date
- September 21, 2019
- Brix at harvest
- 24.5
- Total acidity
- 6.53 g/L
- pH
- 3.48
- Aging
- 18 months
- Barrels
- 66% new French oak