2019 Freestone Vineyards Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
The 2019 Chardonnay Freestone Estate Proem #4 was fermented in new (50%) and older (40%) 500-liter puncheons. It offers singular aromas of underripe banana and warm lemons with touches of chalk and flint. The medium-bodied palate is youthfully tangy and bright, with a gently rounded texture and a tense, mineral-driven finish. Allow it to unwind in bottle over the next 2-3 years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2019 Chardonnay Freestone Vineyards offers more Meyer lemon, honeyed toast, spice, and savory mineral aromas and flavors, yet it shows a similar purity, balance, and length on the palate. It opens up nicely with time in the glass, and this medium-bodied, racy, focused beauty has another 5-7 years of prime drinking ahead of it.
The 2019 Chardonnay Freestone Vineyards is very classy this vintage, with inherent energy derived from the pairing of its goldilocks fruits with bright acidity and shimmery mineral character. The nose offers ripe quince, toasted almonds, saline and beeswax, with toasty hints and an undercurrent of crushed stone. Medium-bodied and satiny, its pure fruits are continually refreshed by all that salty, juicy character, and it has a long, ethereal finish. This deserves another 2-3 years in bottle.
The 2019 Chardonnay Freestone Vineyards is creamy and open-knit, which makes it a good choice for drinking now and over the next handful of years. Lemon confit, marzipan, chamomile, dried flowers, mint and tangerine oil fill out the layers nicely. This is an especially inviting, young Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, with all the elements beautifully balanced.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.