2016
Pahlmeyer Savoir Faire
This bold Chardonnay, from the best barrels of the 2016 vintage, reveals rich golden color in the glass. Elegant aromas of butterscotch, honeysuckle, and orange blossom mingle with hints of brioche, Jordan almonds, roasted nuts and meringue. On the palate, juicy, concentrated fruit characters are balanced by a creamy mouthfeel and accented by notes of cardamom, cloves, and vanilla from fermentation in new French oak puncheons. This is a complex wine that maintains its tension over a lingering finish.
100% Chardonnay
- Winemaker
- Bibiana González Rave
- Alcohol
- 15%
- Harvested Start Date
- September 13, 2016
- Harvested End Date
- September 20, 2016
- Bottled Date
- March 26, 2018
- Release Date
- September 9, 2019
Winemaking Notes
We harvested grapes for this wine in the cool of the night from late-ripening, low-yielding vineyard blocks. At the winery, we hand-sorted and gently pressed the berries as whole clusters, then racked the free-run juice into new French oak barrels for primary and malolactic fermentation with wild yeast. The special barrel selection was then aged for twenty months in 100% new French oak.
Bottled in March 2018, the 2016 Chardonnay Savoir Faire features a gregarious nose of green mangoes, yuzu zest, lemongrass and lime leaves over a core of pink grapefruit, nectarines and Bosc pears plus a waft of lightly browned toast. Medium-bodied, it fills the palate with creamy stone fruit and pears notions, lifted by a lively line and finishing on an almondy note.
