2018 Moundsman Reserve Chardonnay Sonoma County

A Bumper Crop’s $5,000 Per Ton “Special”

One common thread we’ve noticed among Napa’s best-known, cult-producing, 100-point scoring legends, is their obsession with walking the vineyards—even on days off.  

“I have to be there and see the vines all season long,” Helen Keplinger once told us. “It’s the reason limited production, high-quality wines are often “made in the vineyard,” something we’ve also heard from the likes of Andy Erickson (Favia, Screaming Eagle, Harlan), Thomas Rivers Brown (Schrader, Stone the Crows, Round Pond), Philippe Melka (Dalla Valle, Dana, Hundred Acre), and Benoit Touquette (Fait-Main, Realm).

It was 2018, and we’d agreed to meet the Moundsman, a multigenerational grape-grower and farmer, in one of Sonoma County’s most iconic vineyards to see a block of legendary grapes that were not so much on the market, but on offer to us. The block was empty—picked several days earlier.

“Every so often, not only do we have a perfect growing season but we also have a bumper crop,” he told us. That’s music to our ears, because when supply goes up and demand stays the same—well, stellar fruit that is normally reserved for the most expensive wines manages to find its way into much more affordable bottlings from the best-connected vintners. And since we’re plugged into that pipeline, it opens up incredible values to Wine Access members.   

The vines belong to one of the most sought-after consulting winemakers in the world. The winery’s own Chardonnays have drawn raves from major critics like Robert Parker, who has written that it is “virtually impossible to go wrong” with any of the releases. The Moundsman recommended Wine Access as the buyer when the bumper crop produced more “high quality” estate Chardonnay grapes than the owner wanted to use.

After touring the vines, and a few nibbles of berries at the winery later, we took every bunch they would part with.

Drawn from the winery’s estate vines in Carneros and one extreme coastal site, the grapes were hand-harvested, then aged entirely in new French oak on our watch—we produced 12 barrels. This absolutely extravagant 2018 Moundsman Reserve Chardonnay bursts with vibrant lemongrass, quince, and cedar spices through a voluptuous and silken texture. 

While we can’t tell you the name of the fella responsible for farming the iconic winemaker’s pristine fruit, nor can we name the winemaker, we can tell you that the farmer is a multigenerational grape-grower who really loves dirt. “Pay dirt,” is a saying we’ve adopted over the years, courtesy of this Moundsman.

We created the Moundsman series to pay homage to people like him—the unsung heroes, the diggers, the cultivators who have given their all to give us exceptional, beautiful, memorable wines. This, our first Chardonnay, exemplifies the tribute in spades.

That afternoon back in the early fall of 2018, we recall mostly just listening as the Moundsman toured us around the vines in Carneros. “When you drive out of here today, just note how many other vineyards nearby still have fruit hanging out there,” he said. He led us to a spot in the vineyard where several Chardonnay bunches still clung to a few vines. “I leave them there just to taste a few berries each day after harvest. Mostly to affirm our decision to pick early,” said the Moundsman. “Try one,” he offered, pointing to a golden bunch. The berries were juicy, with tender skins and ripe, luscious and fleshy fruit.

“You see? They’re overripe now, just a few days later,” he said, tossing a few chewed berries to the ground. “In order to adhere to the house style, we pick when natural acidity is at peak levels and the grapes have perfect phenolic ripeness.”

Reflecting on the estate and all the Parker praise, it all added up. The farming methods are world-class, the fruit is highly prized, no expense is spared, and the resulting Chardonnays come directly from a classic, lean, California playbook. Cool-climate vineyards of Old Wente and Dijon clones produce tiny clusters of concentrated berries rich with natural acidity, and the wines undergo full malolactic fermentation with plenty of lees contact and stirring.

“Well, it’s about 12 barrels you won’t have to clean this year,” we said, taking out our checkbooks.

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” the Moundsman said through a chuckle. His bloodhound Rusty was chasing a tiny lizard as we tore off a check and handed it over, which he folded and stashed in his shirt pocket.

“I did my part, just don’t mess it up,” he said with a good slap to our backs. And we’re happy to report that we’ve done our part, and now it’s your turn to reap the benefits.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 14.50%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 50°
• Cork