Domaine Della Chardonnay Bacigalupi Vineyard RRV 2024 750ml

Domaine Della's 2024 Bacigalupi Vineyard Chardonnay is sourced from a historic low-yielding block in the Russian River Valley — the very site whose fruit anchored Chateau Montelena's legendary 1973 Chardonnay, the wine that bested France's finest white Burgundies at the 1976 Judgment of Paris and put California on the world stage. Three generations later the Bacigalupi family still farms the vineyard with the same low-yield, hand-tended ethos. Whole-cluster pressed directly to French oak barrels, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and aged on full lees with periodic stirring, with a modest proportion of new oak supporting the fruit without dominating it.

Pale gold in the glass, the nose carries golden apple, white peach, lemon curd, and brioche lifted by honeysuckle and a flinty mineral edge. The palate balances richness with verve — orchard fruit and citrus oil framed by a saline thread, finishing on roasted hazelnut, vanilla bean, and dried chamomile.