Quilt Napa Valley Chardonnay

Classic yet complex, romantic but not ostentatious, Quilt is Joe Wagner’s tribute to the character of Napa Valley and its rolling patchwork of vineyards. Each wine in the collection is crafted from vineyards hand-selected by Joe, a native of Napa Valley and fifth-generation winemaker

100% Napa Valley Chardonnay from the valley’s southern Carneros District, this wine is barrel-fermented for 10 months in small French oak barrels (70% new, 30% neutral), to add a hint of toast and a creamy finish.

For this Chardonnay, we rely almost entirely on vineyards from the Carneros District where the climate is distinctly cooler and foggier than ‘up valley’. Carneros is a world unto itself. Much of its soil is dense clay due to the region’s proximity to San Pablo Bay. This soil, combined with the marine influence of cool winds, brings about Chardonnay fruit with impressive structure and a flinty minerality.

VINEYARDS

We source our Chardonnay fruit primarily from the southernmost stretches of the Carneros AVA, where vineyards have been planted close to the cool San Pablo Bay.

WINEMAKER NOTES

As harvest approaches, we regularly assessed sugar levels, acidity and pH to determine when the Chardonnay fruit for Quilt was ready to be picked. But more importantly, we waited for phenolic/physiological maturity. We wanted autumn to set in, with hard, brown seeds, copper canes, and yellowing of the canopy and a slight tan to the golden clusters. This gave us the assurance that we would have no green tones in the wine and that this Chardonnay would be opulent and showy. Once in the cellar, we whole-cluster pressed in a bladder press. The free run juice settled for 48 hours at which point we racked off heavy lees and barrel-fermented the wine in 59-gallon French oak barrels (70% new, 30% seasoned) for 15 months. The wine underwent 100% malolactic fermentation while still on the lees to achieve additional creaminess and complexity.

TASTING NOTES

COLOR Pale yellow with golden highlights

AROMATICS Crisp yellow pear, fuji apple, meyer lemon, honey, and a hint of caramel.

PALATE Meyer lemon zest, nectarine, ripe pear, yellow apple, and kiwi with intertwined notes of cantaloupe and pineapple.

STRUCTURE Bright, medium-bodied, and rich with smooth and generous layers. Complex, mouthwatering acidity with a lively finish.