2020 Meadowcroft Chardonnay Carneros Napa Valley

This wine is a fantastic example of what we love in Carneros Chardonnay. Combining the sunshine-inflected ripe fruit of old-school California with the brightness that comes from the district’s Pacific breezes, it shows off the winemaker’s immense skill and experience developing and running vineyards across Napa and Sonoma.

Meadowcroft is the labor of love of Tom Meadowcroft, who’s been one of the premier vineyard developers and managers in Napa and Sonoma for over 35 years. He farmed grapes for names like Opus One, Cakebread, Duckhorn, and Stags Leap—and became one of the go-to guys for sourcing the finest grapes in the region.

That nose for top sites now gets him some of the best Chardonnay from the Napa side of Carneros, which benefits from the region’s rolling hills, Pacific winds, and fog to ripen grapes to rich lushness while retaining fantastic vibrancy. The wine is aged with a perfectly judged regimen of 25% new French oak, which provides a hint of vanilla and plenty of texture.

We first tried the wine alongside a drawn-butter Dungeness crab roll from our friend Casey Thompson’s restaurant FolkTable, which is in the same building as Meadowcroft’s elegant tasting room. The Chardonnay was a note-perfect pairing, with rich fruit and a hint of creaminess to complement the crab, and a zesty finish to refresh our palates for another bite.

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

• ABV 14.20%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 48°
• Screw cap