2020 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Napa Valley

2020 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Napa Valley

2020 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Napa Valley; California, USA

Winemakers Notes; Seemingly fresh from the Garden of Eden but actually sourced from the Oak Knoll district, our 2020 Napa Valley Chardonnay is luscious and laden with forbidden fruit. Honeycrisp cinnamon apple, shortbread and tree blossom aromas succumb to a lustrous long palate and sinfully silky finish.

Chardonnay is the world’s most famous white-wine grape and also one of the most widely planted. Although the most highly regarded expressions of the variety are those from Burgundy and California, many high-quality examples are made in Italy, Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America.Describing the flavors of Chardonnay is not easy. While many Chardonnay wines have high aromatic complexity, this is usually due to winemaking techniques (particularly the use of oak) rather than the variety’s intrinsic qualities. Malolactic fermentation gives distinctive buttery aromas. Fermentation and/or maturation in oak barrels contributes notes of vanilla, smoke and hints of sweet spices such as clove and cinnamon. Extended lees contact while in barrel imparts biscuity, doughy flavors. Because of this high level of winemaker involvement, Chardonnay has become known as the “winemaker’s wine”.

Napa Valley, an hour’s drive north of San Francisco, California, is the most famous and prestigious wine region anywhere in the New World. Although a number of grape varieties are grown in the valley’s vineyards, the area is particularly known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The classic “Napa Cab”, the archetypal Napa Valley wine, is a rich, oak-aged red with aromas of blackcurrant, boysenberry, liquorice, vanilla and smoky, bittersweet chocolate.

Lewis Cellars is a winery in California’s Napa Valley, producing around 9000 cases of wine a year. Its wines, made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, have attracted a small but devoted following for the winery, and consistently high scores from wine critics.