COLOUR
White
TYPE
Still
VINTAGE
2021
GRAPE
Chardonnay
PRODUCER
Heitz Cellar
REGION
California
CHARACTERISTICS
Body
Medium - Full
Sweetness
Dry
Acidity
High
Finish
Long
Intensity
Mid - Pronounced
AROMAS & FLAVOURS
ABOUT THIS WINE
In the early 1960s, Heitz Cellar founders Joe and Alice Heitz studied under Fred and Eleanor McCrea of Stony Hill Vineyard—pioneers of bone-dry, non-malolactic, highly structured Napa Chardonnay. Today, winemaker Brittany Sherwood honors that classic, post-Prohibition legacy. Rather than conforming to the heavily oaked, buttery California trend, this single-vineyard bottling from the Quartz Creek Vineyard in the cooler Oak Knoll District is a crystalline, mineral-driven masterclass focused on site transparency and ageability.
ALCOHOL
13.0%
AVG. PRICE
€75
STYLE
Classic
SULPHITES
YES
When to drink
Now or Later
Ideal temperature
10-12°C
INTERESTING FACTS
Fact 01
The vineyard is named after its gravelly, sedimentary alluvial soils heavily strewn with a high concentration of quartz rock.
Fact 02
Heitz Cellar completely blocks malolactic fermentation for this wine, resulting in a vibrant, 'live-wire' malic acidity.
Fact 03
The 2021 vintage was marked by an intense drought, producing exceptionally small berries with highly concentrated flavors.
FOOD PAIRING
Read more
WINE MAKING PROCESS
Whole-cluster pressed and fermented with native (indigenous) yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is strictly blocked to preserve the grape's pure, crisp malic acid structure. The wine is aged for 12 months on its fine lees in 100% French oak barrels, with only 25% new oak used for the 2021 vintage. Periodic bâtonnage (lees stirring) is performed to develop a textured, creamy mid-palate that balances the high natural acidity.
