Lot 617 | 2025 Los Carneros Chardonnay 750ml
***BOTTLING MID-JUNE, SHIPPING SHORTLY AFTER*** We’re pleased to present our first barrel-fermented white wine of the 2025 vintage: a gorgeous Carneros Chardonnay from a renowned Napa estate! A program of this caliber takes years (sometimes decades) to build. Grower relationships must be cultivated and maintained, a winemaking approach must be honed and re-tuned to each vintage’s needs, and then there’s the small matter of competing against all the other elite programs being offered by your neighbors. Safe to say, no winery (especially one with a proud history) likes parting with one of its best wines via side channels. But in the current market, no inventory is beyond consideration – that’s where we come in. Today’s acquisition is a gem that we’ve landed for our readers at a spectacular discount. Lot 617 hails from this estate’s top-tier Carneros program. Legacy access affords them some of the choicest fruit in Napa’s Burgundian enclave, and this wine is about as technically complex as Chardonnay production gets: barrel fermentation, partial malolactic conversion, and then a stint of barrel aging. Vintage after vintage, our source’s winemaker has made this intricate process seem effortless. One of the most refined wines we’ve ever tasted from this program, it achieves a harmony between vibrant acidity, concentrated fruit, delicate structure, and delicious, layered texture. With previous vintages all priced at the $60+/bottle mark, the white wine lovers among you will be quite happy to find it available today for... $22/bottle! Malolactic fermentation is frequently mentioned on many a wine’s tech sheet, but rarely explained. For those of you newer on your wine journey (or wouldn't mind a refresher), here’s what’s actually happening: sharp malic acid is converted into softer lactic acid, which stylistically gives a wine a rounder, creamier texture. In skilled, talented hands, “malo” adds sublime depth and complexity without overwhelming freshness or terroir, harnessing a biologically complex process to lift a wine to new heights. This is a masterful display of such talent. Golden apple, buttered toast, Meyer lemon curd, and freshly foraged mushroom rushes forth from the glass. A bright entry shows exceptional minerality, carried by vibrant acidity and an almost weightless sense of balance despite its layered concentration. Hints of spice, brioche, citrus blossoms, and additional golden apple unfold seamlessly across the palate. The finish is mouthwatering and refreshing, marked by hints of vanilla and spice alongside wet stone and lingering citrus with a kiss of tropical fruit. 13.1% alc