Chardonnay Private Reserve 2023 Beringer

Chardonnay Private Reserve 2023 is Beringer's top white, a full-bodied Napa Valley Chardonnay, from this winery located in California. The Private Reserve tier uses the highest-grade grapes, and in 2023, those grapes were harvested late, very late, in fact. During a rainy winter, the Napa region received 51 inches of rain, more than the historical average of 31 inches, and a cold snap followed: June recorded its lowest average temperature since 1998, and budbreak in Chardonnay began in early April rather than late March. Flowering and color development were delayed by about 2 to 4 weeks. White grapes for still wine did not begin arriving at Napa cellars in small quantities until the early part of September.

Favorable weather conditions during the flowering period resulted in a high yield; however, rather than simply relying on high sugar content, the clusters were thinned to ensure that the remaining fruit could reach full physiological ripeness. The combination of leaving the grapes on the vines for an extended period during a cool year and reducing the yield per vine shaped the character of this wine. In other words, it features well-ripened Napa fruit without any roasted notes and maintains a firm acidity that holds up under the oak.