The 1999 growing season was generally long and cool. A perfectly timed heat wave in September lowered grape acids to ideal levels. Still, the timing of our chardonnay harvest was comparatively later than other recent vintages.
The vineyards used to produce the grapes for this Chardonnay Reserve are located in the Carneros appellation of the Napa Valley. The clonal selections for these grapevines are small cluster Dijon and Wente clones, both of which are prized for their intense flavors and high acids

Once the ripe, hand-harvested grapes arrive at Cakebread Cellars, they are whole-cluster-pressed; the juice is settled in stainless steel tanks; then transferred to barrels where it is completely barrel-fermented. After barrel-fermentation is completed, the wine remains in the original barrels where the yeast lees or sediment is stirred once a week for several months to help promote complexity, mouth-feel, depth and length of flavors in the wine.

Cakebread Cellars' use of small, tight-grained French oak barrels of varying age and different selected cooperages helps accentuate the fruit while integrating the wine with the complex nuances of oak flavors.

Our 1999 Chardonnay Reserve has a light gold color and rich aromas of baked apple, faint vanilla spice and lemon, with a hint of oak. This Reserve flows smoothly over the palate. A definite and refreshing fruit flavor resembling that of white peaches and hints of ripe tropical melon, show in the lively and engaging interplay of fruit acids. The finish is long and satisfying, accented by notes of vanilla. Cakebread Cellars' 1999 Napa Valley Chardonnay Reserve is indeed a very special wine, deserving its reserve name.