Chardonnay Belle Côte 2018
AVA, Peter Michael Winery, 750 ml
| Grape variety: | Chardonnay |
| Producer: | Peter Michael Estate |
| Origin: | USA / California / Napa Valley |
| Other vintages: |
Description
The grapes for Belle Côte are grown at 1,700 to 1,800 feet above sea level. The high elevation, in combination with a more sheltered site, create conditions for a long and slow ripening. The resulting wine offers the broadest, fattest fruit profile of our four single vineyard Chardonnays, with clean citrus notes, exotic lychee and our signature wet stone-like minerality. Very intense and powerful, the nose reveals hedonistic aromas of lychee, rose petal and orange blossom, with a background of mineral, candied orange, yellow peach, crème brûlée, nougat, whole nut and toasted almond. The rich seamless palate is very creamy and weighty in the mouth. Notes of pain grillé, marmalade, brioche and hazelnut coupled with natural acidity and minerality complete the mouth feel. The Belle Côte is enjoyable now and will continue to develop for a decade or more.
Attributes
| Origin: | USA / California / Napa Valley |
| Grape variety: | Chardonnay |
| Ripening potential: | 2 to 15 years |
| Drinking temperature: | 10 to 12 °C |
| Food Pairing: | Grilled fish, Succulent chicken breast with cream sauc, Wild fowl, Giant crevettes, grilled langoustines |
| Volume: | 14.5 % |
| Note: | Contains sulphites |
Chardonnay
King or beggar?
Hardly any variety of vine shows such a broad spectrum of quality as the Chardonnay. Its wines range from faceless neutrality to breath-taking class. It is an extremely low-maintenance vine, which explains why it is grown around the world – even in places where it probably should not be. The aromas of the Chardonnay variety are not very pronounced: a bit of green apple, a little hazelnut; in warmer latitudes, also melon and exotic fruits. The wines are often defined by maturing in casks. They develop more or less subtle notes of butter, toasted bread and vanilla. The grapes achieve their highest expression in their region of origin, Burgundy. Its heart beats in the Côte de Beaune: one might think of the plant growth of Meursault or Puligny-Montrachet. With their finesse and complexity, they can survive for decades. Chardonnay also achieves first class in some Blanc-de-Blancs champagnes. It additionally yields great wines in the Burgundian Chablis, and increasingly in Australia and Chile. A simple rule of thumb for pairing with food: When butter and cream are involved, you cannot go wrong with Chardonnay.
USA
USA - Yes, they can!
The United States is the third-largest nation on the planet in terms of both land area (after Russia and Canada) and population (after China and India). Every conceivable climate zone can be found in the US, from hot deserts to arctic frost. Thanks to immigration from all over the world, the US is probably the most multicultural country on the planet. Thus it has the ideal conditions for producing internationally recognized wine.
