What we’re drinking: A range of Chardonnays grown by the Cakebread family
Where they’re from: Carneros, a cooler sub-region of the Napa Valley
Why we’re drinking these: There was a time when I didn’t understand Chardonnay. I shrugged off any wine made with the grape and decided they were all over-extracted and extra buttery. But as I learned more about the grape, I realized I was wrong. Chardonnay is a wildly diverse grape, able to be conjured into a broad spectrum of wines, from light and airy or rich and oxidative. A range of new releases from Cakebread Cellars shows off the diversity of Chardonnay, the first varietal they ever planted.
Why You Hate Chardonnay (And How to Find One You’ll Actually Enjoy)
The most famous wine variety in the world gets a bad rap. We can fix that.
In a typical year, the iconic Napa Valley winery sources grapes from 16 different estate-owned vineyards. Grapes from each of these vineyards are harvested, fermented, vinified and then blended into one single Chardonnay release.
Essentially, each vineyard’s offerings are treated as ingredients. Some vineyards make peppy, bright Chardonnays while others produce long and lush ones. Add in a little from here, a little from there, and you can blend your perfect example of the style.
To celebrate 50 years in the Napa Valley, Cakebread is releasing four single-vineyard Chardonnays, or four wines made entirely from four very different vineyards in the Carneros appellation. It’s a master class on Chardonnay, highlighting what a difference a location can make. Think of these bottles as liquid postcards from a very specific place — while all are grown in Carneros, a cool, wet, windswept pocket of the Napa Valley on the banks of San Pablo Bay, each vineyard has its own unique identity.
(These vineyards also hold a lot of future potential. Carneros is cooler than the rest of the valley, and as temperatures rise, this area offers a lot more potential for future winemaking. It also requires less water to farm — since it’s right on the San Pablo Bay, the wind and fog work to naturally moisten the soil.)
How they taste:
- Cuttings Wharf Chardonnay: Cakebread Cellars has been releasing individual bottlings of Cuttings Wharf vineyards for years (which means, they know how they age really well). It’s situated on a low ridge in shallow soils and planted with six (!) different versions of French Chardonnay. Fog blowing in off the ocean regularly blankets the vines, which allows the Chardonnay grapes to ripen perfectly. In the newest vintage, expect an apricot-lime minerality on the nose and a delicate roundness and lengthy viscosity on the palate.
- Foster Road Chardonnay: This is the very first Chardonnay plot the Cakebread team ever purchased, so they’ve had plenty of time to get familiar with it. The vineyard has gentle sloping hills and cool, windy days that give way to elegant, pristine Chardonnays. It’s got bright, vanilla balm on the nose and almond and candied apricot on the palate.
- Milton Road Chardonnay: This cool, Southern site on the San Pablo Bay makes steely, salty Chardonnay with a ton of acidity and freshness.
- Tinsley Road Chardonnay: This vineyard in the Southeastern corner of the Carneros region has a loooooong growing season that makes bright Napa Valley Chardonnay. It’s peppy and mineral-driven, with fuzzy peach notes and a lovely stone fruit character.
Fun fact: Founder Jake Cakebread was a mechanic by trade but a photographer in his heart. He spent several summers trading under Ansel Adams in Yosemite, honing his skills and developing a relationship with the famed photographer. Jack went on to photograph the Napa Valley and the faces that make it, and you can still find both his and Ansel’s photograph around the vineyard.
Where to buy: Go to Cakebread’s site, where you can get ’em for $300
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