2017 Napa Valley Chardonnay - Patland Vineyards

An unabashedly opulent yet still energetic display coursing with lemon meringue pie, peach cobbler, apple fritter, and pineapple upsidedown cake booms with outstanding richness and decadence while somehow remaining impressively firm, focused, and serious. Wafts of fresh jasmine, blooming honeysuckle, and sweet peonies proudly announce an influx of highly aromatic floral character that is playfully challenged by a pronounced dusting of oak spices including vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. Notes of brioche, toasted marshmallow, caramel, and buttercream contribute a plethora of rich and creamy qualities that are offset only slightly by mild earthiness and saline minerality. Immensely forward, fruit-driven, and voluptuous on the palate while retaining admirable tension and balance; exhibiting a powerful and highly concentrated presentation that is substantially bold and round yet still somehow quite juicy and crisp. Full bodied and plush yet kept fresh by elevated acidity. This 2017 Napa Valley Chardonnay by Patland Vineyards is a luxurious and seductive white from California.

Internationally prized for its ability to produce high quality terroir expressive wine in an incredibly wide range of soils and climates, Chardonnay is a famously versatile light-skinned grape grown nearly everywhere in the world that fine wine is made. This bottling, crafted by Patland Vineyards using Chardonnay sourced from three vineyards in Napa Valley, brilliantly showcases a deliciously ripe warm-climate expression of this legendary variety. This generously gushes a range of baked and almost dessert-like citrus, orchard, tropical, and stone fruits layered with fragrant floral tones, bold oak spices, buttery creaminess, and just a touch of earth. Although quite opulent and outgoing this possesses surprising tension and bite, and should continue to age well as it is still quite youthful in character at this stage. Excellent.