What a lovely pale gold display in the glass. Toast, citrus, and orchard fruits hit my nose with ambition, followed by pleasant mouth-watering medium acidity on the palate. This is a highly rated wine, and I concur. Winemaker Ivo shows restraint with his use of oak, and grapes were harvested at relatively low sugars (22 Brix). This shows up as a deep, rich, yet balanced Napa Valley Chardonnay with relatively low alcohol at 13.5%.
The 2021 “Paris Tasting Commemorative” Chardonnay is an excellent wine, concentrated, intense, with a creamy mouthfeel that lingers. It’s primarily sourced from the oldest estate block of Chardonnay, predominantly the same Wente clones that showed so well at the famed Paris tasting of 1976.
In planning a meal, I typically pick the wine first and plan the meal next. In this case, we picked up some fresh Pacific Northwest halibut steaks. They were grilled, pairing beautifully with the buttery toastiness of the wine, and pesto pasta with parmesan, which picked up the wine’s creamy texture. Ivo, I’ll recreate this meal for you upon your next market visit to Portland, OR… If you bring the wine! Don’t miss Ivo Jeramaz’s interview, and his discussion of why this Chard is their flagship.