Joseph Swan Saralee Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 - 750ml

Tasting Notes

The 2023 vintage reveals bright citrus, pear, and apple aromas layered with hints of vanilla and minerality. Its richness and crisp acidity highlight why the United States continues to be considered one of the best producers of premium Chardonnay. Complex, structured, and refreshing, it stands as a unique and best expression of United States Chardonnay.

About the Wine

This wine is from a very small block of grapes that were planted to a musqué clone of chardonnay. The term musqué refers to the highly aromatic properties of the grapes. We first made wine form this block many years ago but with the sale of the property we no longer had access to it. In 2023 I asked if it might be available, and we were able to get it all! Unfortunately, time has not been kind to the vines and very little fruit is produced.

The grapes were whole cluster pressed to limit phenolic extraction, followed by barrel fermentation with feral yeast and aging on the lees until bottling.

Aromatically it is not as “musqué”, or perfumed, as I remember the earlier versions, but it still has the heightened level of perfume that this clone is known for. In many ways it reminds me of chardonnays made from the old Wente selections which are usually more interesting and complex than the widely planted higher producing clones. Unfortunately, we were only able to bottle just over 100 cases.