RouteStock creates wines from classic grape varieties grown along well-known routes in the world’s most respected wine regions. Tried, trusted and true to their routes, these wines are handcrafted by our winemakers to be approachable and a reliable favorite.

Route 121 meanders through Carneros (“ram” in Spanish), a region once known for its sheep populations. On a drive down Route 121 you will pass many of the vineyards that supplied perfectly ripe grapes for this Carneros Chardonnay.

Carneros is well-known as a cool-climate region, perfect for growing Chardonnay. The morning fog and afternoon breezes off the chilly San Pablo Bay cool the region, while the Napa and Sonoma valleys to the north heat it up. This heat causes the air to draw inland over Carneros, drying the vines of the moist morning fog. As night falls, the fog rolls in, protecting the vines from potential morning sun.

The end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 was wet and cold which extended well into the spring, making bud-break at least two weeks later than the more recent normal. This cool and relatively wet weather continued through early June. Summer was warmer, dry and nice with very few days over 100 degrees, especially in the relatively cool Carneros region, which gave us even ripening and grape maturity. We harvested extremely healthy clusters of Chardonnay in early and mid-September, picking each of the three clones on three different days.

This wine is a blend of three separate clones of Chardonnay: Wente (61%), Dijon 76 (31%) and Chardonnay Musque (8%). This trio of clones gives the wine greater complexity, depth of flavor and aromatics than any single clone wine.

In an effort to keep the wine showing the exotic freshness that it showed in tank and then in barrel, we stopped malolactic fermentation about 15% of the way through, thus retaining higher acidity, freshness and vitality.

The wine shows a beautiful light straw color with seductive aromas of Meyer lemon, wet stone, lemon thyme, melon and ginger. The wine fills the pallet beautifully with a brightness and liveliness combined with just enough richness to not be heavy that shows the Carneros region’s strengths to the best degree. The exotic flavors of this well-balanced Chardonnay are of Meyer lemon rind, fresh tarragon, honeydew melon and jasmine tea and that transitions to an amazingly balanced mouth-feel and lengthy finish.