We’re thrilled to be showcasing our first Ballentine Vineyards wine today. You can be assured that we’ll feature many more in the future. We’re real fans!

Just imagine serving the perfect Chardonnay at your next gathering. Can you see your friends and family oooh and ahhh over your skillful selection? Today’s Ballentine Vineyards 2014 Reserve Estate Grown Napa Valley Chardonnay is one impressive, food-fabulous wine. Our whole tasting panel loves this great wine.

This Chardonnay has excellent clarity with a deep, warm, yellow-like 24 karat gold hue. The nose is quite exquisite, with caramel apple, toasty vanilla, perfumed floral quality somewhere between rose and jasmine, with a rich quince preserve note. On the palate, the barrel quality comes to the fore with cinnamon and holiday spice notes of high-quality toast. They are held in balance by mature fruit flavors of apple, nectarine, and loquat. Overall, the wine is perfectly balanced with a lush mouthfeel that coats the palate evenly with a long and gorgeous finish. Will win over converts to the cult of Chardonnay. This would be a fantastic partner for a classic Waldorf salad with walnuts, grapes, and bleu cheese dressing.

This wine was made by winemaker Bruce Devlin, who has been making wines in the Napa Valley for the last 20 years, 19 of which have been spent at Ballentine. Bruce’s familiarity with the winery’s estate vineyards gives him a distinct advantage when it comes to improving the year over year quality of the wines that he produces. When asked about his winemaking philosophy, Bruce says, “Respect the vineyard and the fruit from it. I am also a very textural winemaker and really believe the palate must be in balance.”

You may know Bruce from his Three Clicks Winery label, which he’s owned and operated in the Napa Valley for the last 12 years. We’ve been enjoying Bruce’s wines for the last 12 years (that’s how long we’ve been hunting down great wines for our Operatives) and each that we’ve sampled has been stellar.