In just a few weeks, we will be bottling many wines. Last week I mentioned our dessert wines that will be bottled. This week, I am sharing our Chardonnay wines. We will have 3, 2016 Amber Chardonnay, 2016 Renaissance Chardonnay and 2015 Emmie’s Blend (Chardonnay, Muscat & Albarino).
The first wine I am going to mention, is our 2016 Amber Chardonnay. Each vintage has become even more fantastic than the year before. This truly a remarkable wine that everyone must try. Five years ago, an article inspired us to create this skin-contact Chardonnay. It was so inspiring that is now our tradition to produce our estate Chardonnay in this style. This is a unique wine that was made in a similar method to the Georgian wines called “Orange or Amber Wines”. Those wines are normally fermented and aged in clay vessels called qvevri. After fermenting in the skins, just like red wines, we aged this estate Chardonnay in French oak barrels for 20 months.
Our estate Chardonnay captures the essence of Reyes Vineyard with stunning fresh acidity and minerality. By picking the grapes, on the perfect day, we can obtain a skin-contact Chardonnay that is bright, well balanced, with great concentration of fruit. The nose is soft yet elegant with complex aromas of apricots and kumquats with a hint of floral developing in the glass. Delectable flavors of stone fruits and citrus supported by a perfect balance of oak softening the bright acid giving way to a lingering finish. Enjoy this chilled with a shrimp creole with dirty rice and pecan pie for dessert.
Secondly, our 2016 Renaissance by Reyes Winery Chardonnay has delightful aromas of citrus, lemon zest and a hint of grapefruit. Aged in French oak for 20 months, creating a multi layered and complex wine. It is rich on the palate and filled with notes of tangerines and quince. Enjoy chilled with grilled spicy salmon topped with a grapefruit salsa or a citrus salad.
Lastly, our 2015 Emmie’s Blend. It is a limited-edition blend of estate Chardonnay and Muscat with locally sourced Albarino. The It has a beautiful floral aroma of light citrus notes. It is well balanced with the right acidity. Pairs with baked brie with an apple compote or chevre with lavender.
Every year we have an event at the vineyard for guests to see the bottling process. It will be January 5th from 12pm-4pm. Its $49 per person and it includes lunch, a glass of wine, a tour of the bottling line and you get to take home a bottle that just was bottled.
Come try our current 2015 Amber Chardonnay this month in the Reyes Winery tasting room and don’t forget it makes the perfect holiday gift!
