Amapola Creek Joseph Belli Vineyards Chardonnay 2016

Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2016 Chardonnay Jos. Belli Vineyards is beautiful. Exotic flowers, lychee, white peach, and a hint of honeysucklegive way to a medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant and silky Chardonnay that has good acidity as well as texture. Aged 11 months in new and neutralbarrels, drink it over the coming 4-5 years." Jun 2018Winery: "Our Chardonnay is grown by Joseph Belli, a close friend and longtime business associate of Richards. Joe has planted his grapesnext to his home, a few miles south of Healdsburg on the western end of the Russian River Valley. The vineyard is set just past the edge of the valleyfloor, where the land starts to lift-up into rolling hills. These steep, terraced hillsides provide excellent drainage for the vines, reducing the wateravailable to the roots, which in turn produces tiny berries with intense flavor. Since the vineyard faces the east, the vines receive full sunlight inthe morning and early afternoon, while being protected from the more intense late afternoon sun. We use two clones of Chardonnay from the Belli ranch inour blend: Rued, a musqu selection of Chardonnay that contributes vibrant tropical aromatics, and Dijon, which delivers a classic Chardonnay profile richin minerality and fruit flavors.The nose of this wine opens with a burst of ripe pear, backed by a gentle note of dark honey and orange blossom. Linger with the glass, and you will findtraces of gardenia and maple sugar, opening to a subtle aroma of flint. Take a sip, and the flavor of ripe, juicy pear immediately returns. It quicklygives way to toast and caramel, which in turn open to gentle characters of minerality and mild citrus zest. The mouthfeel is rich, bordering on oily, witha strong core of acidity to balance it out. The finish is full and lush, with characters of apricot jam and toasted oats, balanced against a light-yet-sharptrill of acidity at the tip of the tongue. This wine was fermented in French oak barrels and then aged in barrel for 11 months, where the wine completedmalolactic fermentation. The 2016 Jos. Belli Chardonnay is completely accessible now, but if stored properly, it will continue to develop for at leastthe next handful of years. Bottle: 750ml, cork Varietal: 100 percent Chardonnay Alcohol percent: 13.9 percent Acidity g/l: 5.9 pH: 3.5 Aging: 11 months in new and seasoned French oak Region: Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California Production: Limited at 500 dozen