Chardonnay Force & Grace Carneros

Our 2022 Carneros Chardonnay boasts an aromatic nose of crisp apples, ripe melon, and sweet citrus. The bright palate draws on flavors of lemon and Fuyu persimmons, with an edge of stony minerality. Oak aging adds complex notes of vanilla, brioche, toasted coconut, and hints of cinnamon, swathed in a wonderfully rich texture and complemented by a fresh, balancing acidity. 14.3% ABV.

For this Chardonnay, we picked fruit from the Carneros AVA in the Sonoma and Napa regions, an area known as “Napa’s Burgundy” thanks to the cooling fog and breezes from nearby San Pablo Bay. Chardonnay thrives in this region, and wines produced from fruit found here are powerful, bright, and intensely pronounced, with great aromatics and minerality.

Our fruit is hand-picked at night, whole clusters are gently pressed to minimize extraction of harsh phenolics, and 80-90% of the fruit is fermented in oak barrels to enhance ripeness and add rich, luscious texture. The remaining 10-20% is fermented in stainless steel to preserve freshness and bright fruit character. A variety of native and selected yeast strains are used to ensure site-specific expression and enhance specific characteristics of freshness, fruitiness and texture. About 75% of the final blend completes malolactic conversion for a balance of richness and freshness, and wines are left to age in tank and 100% French oak barrels with lees-stirring for 8 months for added complexity and viscosity.