Pale gold color; pear, golden apple, banana, honeysuckle, oak, vanilla on the nose; baked apple, pear, apricot, melon, crème brûlée, pie crust, butter, oak on the palate.
Dry; rich, full body; mild balancing acidity (3.63 pH). Blend of 92% chardonnay, 8% pinot gris. Slight hint of oak tannin; all the wine spent 10 months in French oak, 33% new. Oak influences this wine, but in measured, appropriate way. There is butter from judicious use of malolactic fermentation, but this clearly is not a 20th century oak-and-butter bomb California cartoon chardonnay. 14.1% ABV
Grapes sourced from the Oak Knoll District of Napa. The AVA experiences cold nights, cool mornings, and milder days than other parts of Napa, excellent for quality chardonnay. The grapes were given extended hang time to ripen slowly and concentrate flavors. Mild weather that allowed for picking when there was a balance of flavor and acidity. The grapes are hand-pruned, hand-picked, hand-sorted to ensure hands-on quality.
Jonathan and Susan Pey started Textbook Napa Valley in 2004. Jonathon spent a year in his youth in France when his father’s work transferred him. During that time, he discovered wine was as much a part of a meal as milk. Returning from abroad he earned his undergraduate degree in Agronomy from the University of Arizona and began working as a sales manager for Kobrand Corp in New York City. During that time, he discovered Napa and centered on Oakville as the place he wanted to have a winery. And so he did.
The Textbook name came about when Jonathan was tasting his first vintage from barrel. He remembers pulling out the wine with a wine thief into two glass and noticing the dark color, the density, the texture and the exotic aromas. He said something like, “this is classic Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon—so textbook like.” The name rang true and, surprisingly was not trademarked. He says his goal with his Napa Valley cab is to provide its varietal expression and make people want to say, “this is what Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon smells and tastes like.” The same is true for this chardonnay.
In 2019, with the business of wine taking up more and more of his time, Jonathan sold the winery to Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners, a group whose parent company is Kirin Brewery Company in Japan that also is associated with Mercian, a Kirin subsidiary that owns wineries in Japan, France, and Markham Vineyards in the Napa Valley. Jonathon remains active in Textbook overseeing winemaking, vineyard sources, and participating in select marketing events. Abigail Horstman is the winemaker.
Textbook Chardonnay Napa Valley The Pey Family 2021: The Pey family set out to make Napa wines that were “textbook Napa wines.” And this fits that definition. Apple, pear, apricot, some oak and malolactic buttery elements, but not overdone. Classic Napa cab that thankfully flaunts some restraint. Pair with pork; rich fish (salmon, tuna); butter-dipped lobster and scallops; chicken; vegetarian fare—fresh garden salads. Cheese—creamy and bloomy cheese; fresh and soft cheese. $22-27
