Estate Chardonnay

The Wine

Our Chardonnay is a pale gold in color, with enticing aromas of Golden Delicious apple, clover honey, baking spices, vanilla and light butter scents. On the palate, the wine is crisp and well structured, with flavors of apple pie and lemon curd following a refreshing minerality that persists throughout the wine's long, clean finish.

The 2006 Vintage

One of the longest growing seasons in our 40 years in Napa Valley began with a New Year's flood and continued with an unusually cool, wet spring, then segued into a very mild summer punctuated by a record July heat wave. August and September were ideal with morning fog, mild afternoons and cool, crisp evenings, while October was dominated by unseasonably cool weather which slowed ripening, elongated the harvest and tried our patience.

Food Affinities

Our 2006 Chardonnay makes a wonderful match for dishes with warm spices and rich flavors. Seafood, veal, pasta and succulent pork loin are just a few examples.

Our Estate Vineyard

Our primary estate vineyard is located in the heart of the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley AVA, which occupies an ideal climate zone between Napa's warmer up-valley districts and its cool southern tip. The marine influence of nearby San Pablo Bay allows our estate Chardonnay grapes to ripen slowly and evenly, developing concentrated flavors while retaining high levels of acidity.

About Trefethen

In 1968, our family purchased seven farms surrounding a magnificent, but run-down, 19th-century winery in southern Napa Valley and created Trefethen Family Vineyards. At the time, there were fewer than 30 working wineries in Napa Valley. True to our original vision of creating a classic wine estate, we have never purchased a single outside grape. Instead, we lavish extraordinary care on our two sustainably farmed estate vineyards in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Controlling all viticultural practices allows us to produce grapes with pure, intense flavors beautifully reflecting our unique terroir.