2018 Joseph Phelps Chardonnay Freestone Vineyards Pastorale Vineyard

Similarly colored, the 2018 Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard comes from a site on the Sonoma Coast and was brought up in 55% new French oak. It's a tighter, more focused wine than the Freestone Vineyard cuvée and has classy notes of white flower, crushed citrus, salty minerality, honey, and white currants. This fresh, focused beauty has balance, perfectly integrated acidity, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's certainly more reserved and understated at this point compared to the Freestone Vineyard and is going to benefit from another year or two in bottle. It should keep for over a decade.

The 2018 Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard is complex and beautifully layered from the very first taste. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of aromas, flavors and textures. Lemon confit, white pepper and flowers give the 2018 aromatic brightness, but there’s also plenty of mid-palate pliancy and depth to balance things out. I especially like the wine’s palpable weight and strong-voiced character.