# Pahlmeyer Chardonnay Napa Valley (2022)

- **Producer:** Pahlmeyer Winery
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** California, United States
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.4%
- **Average price:** €138
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 15–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** peach, apricot, orange, lemon, blossom, brioche, butter, toast, pastry, vanilla, smoke, almond, hazelnut, honey

## About this wine

Founded in 1986 by former trial attorney Jayson Pahlmeyer, Pahlmeyer Winery has long been a benchmark producer of mountain-grown wines in Napa Valley. Jayson famously dreamed of creating a "California Mouton-Rothschild" and reportedly smuggled French clonal cuttings into the US to achieve his vision. Today, under the ownership of the Gallo family and the winemaking leadership of Katie Vogt, the estate continues to craft iconic, structured wines. The fruit for this Chardonnay is sourced from a prestigious collection of five vineyards spanning both high-elevation mountain sites like Atlas Peak and cool-climate valley floor locations in Carneros, offering a unique blend of power and elegance.

## Interesting facts

- Founder Jayson Pahlmeyer reportedly smuggled French clonal cuttings into the US through Canada to start his vineyard.
- The wine uses a 'black chardonnay' technique, hyper-oxidizing the juice to make the final wine highly resistant to premature aging.
- This vintage was bottled completely unfined and unfiltered to preserve its maximum natural density and texture.

## Food pairing

This full-bodied, richly textured Chardonnay pairs beautifully with decadent, buttery, and savory dishes. The wine's high acidity cuts through rich fats like butter-poached lobster or roasted pork belly, while its pronounced intensity and oak-derived sweet spice notes complement roasted poultry and caramelized, savory elements.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process for this Chardonnay utilizes a rare technique known as "black chardonnay," where the juice is hyper-oxidized before fermentation to strip out easily oxidizable compounds, enhancing the wine's long-term stability. The grapes are harvested in the cool early morning hours and gently whole-cluster pressed. The free-run and press fractions are segregated and aged separately. Primary fermentation takes place in barrels using a mix of native and inoculated yeasts. The wine undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation, during which it is kept on its fine lees and stirred (bâtonnage) up to three times per week to build texture. It is aged for 12 months in 100% new François Frères heavy-toast French oak barrels and bottled completely unfined and unfiltered.