Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay 2021
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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Winemaker Notes
From the standout 2021 vintage the Napa Valley Chardonnay is showy, serious and seductive. Green pear, white flower, vanilla custard and a hint of flint on entry, the palate expands with creamy texture and a touch of butterscotch. Framed with native acidity and integrated oak this wine leaves you with a long, languid tail.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Spicy, toasty oak stands up well to the rich, honeyed pear and pineapple flavors in this full-bodied wine, balancing it well, and giving it great depth and length. This is an excellent choice for fans of big Chardonnay, as it is packed with baking spices, coconut, poached pears and vanilla that are practically irresistible.
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Jeb Dunnuck
In addition to brilliant reds, this estate also makes a great white. Their 2021 Chardonnay Napa Valley offers a plush, up-front, medium-bodied style as well as terrific gold apple-like fruit, spicy, oaky, toasty background notes, terrific balance, and a clear, classy finish. This rich, powerful Chardonnay is perfect for drinking over the coming 2-4 years.
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James Suckling
This is spiced and toasty with baked apples, grilled pineapple, bread crust and some nuttiness to it. Full-bodied with broad, creamy texture and a ripe tropical core with some ground spices, chamomile and nut shell undertones. Lingering, slightly phenolic finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Like the red wines here, the 2021 Chardonnay is big and flavorful. Boasting scents of spicy oak, Barlett pear and grilled pineapple, it's medium to full-bodied, ripe and succulent but crisp at the same time, with wet stone and bright citrus notes on the finish. Best After 2023.
Other Vintages
2020-
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wine
Spectator -
Wilfred
Wong -
Connoisseurs'
Guide
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Spectator
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Connoisseurs'
Guide -
Wine
Spectator
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.