Chateau Montelena Chardonnay

Introduction: The 2014 vintage was sunny just warm enough and bountiful – the fundamental or at least superficial criteria for a great vintage. e truth naturally is more complex and while no one ever complains about beautiful weather and a bumper crop we tend to look at vintage characteristics a bit differently. If there are good or great vintages then there necessarily must be bad vintages and I think these sorts of blanket statements are hyperbole at best. Just as any good chef will tell you that nature doesn’t make bad ingredients we see the trends challenges and idiosyncrasies of each vintage as an opportunity to decode our soil our vineyard and our region through the lens of our fruit. It’s this perspective and our inherent intellectual or creative curiosity that sets us apart as the details and nuances of each growing season are what make each year special and unique in its own right and thus the final wines great. Vintage Weather: After a dry winter and mild