2020 Pahlmeyer Wayfarer Vineyard Chardonnay Estate
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Chardonnay Cuvée Cleo takes on more depth, with orange flower, pineapple, and beeswax. Up front, the palate is ripe with golden orchard fruit and apricot, as well as orange peel and a hint of warming spice. The palate is full and opulent, with a suspended yet clean texture, making this an incredibly elegant and profound wine. Drink it over the next 10 or more years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2020 Chardonnay Cuvée Cleo comes from one new barrel of Hyde clone fruit and is elegant and expressive. It has a spicy character on the nose complementing scents of quince, pear, elderflower, flint and crushed almonds. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and fragrant, with detailed, mineral-laced fruits and a very long, seamless finish. This will be released in the spring of 2023.
Hand-picked. After gentle pressing, the wine settled for 24 hours, followed by racking to barrel. Ambient yeasts guided alcoholic fermentation, with bâtonnage until malolactic fermentation was complete. Aged in barrel for 15 months, and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Intriguing, subtle aromas with an attractive, reductive edge allied with classy oak notes on the nose. Rounded, fleshy palate with apple acidity and creamy, lees-aged characters. Distinguished and complex. (AWH)
The 2020 Chardonnay Wayfarer Vineyard is a gorgeous wine. Deep, rich and phenolic, this potent Chardonnay has a ton to offer. The 2020 is a very beautiful and distinctive wine that is just starting to open. It will be interesting to see how it ages. A reduction of new oak given the natural richness of the year works so well here. (AG)