Shafer Vineyards, Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay 2019 Shafer Vineyards

Get to Know: Shafer Vineyards, Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay 2019

Tasting Note

No matter what time of year you open this wine, you’ll have a taste of summer in Napa Valley. Lush aromatics fill the glass with white flowers, lemon zest, honeysuckle, clove, and flint. There is a rich balance of liveliness and density in the mouth with abundant flavors of apricot, white melon, grapefruit peel, ripe pineapple, and minerality, with a beautiful finish that goes on and on.

Try it with Swordfish with lemon and dill.

Kate Says

“This is a full-bodied Chardonnay full of opulent fruit but it has enough energetic acidity to stay light on the palate. The flavour is amazing and it is creamy on the palate with a finish that goes on for days. Shafer may be better known for their Cabernet but this white wine is well worth your attention.”

Producer Info

Whole-cluster pressed and fermented with wild yeast in individual barrels (75% oak, 25% stainless steel); 0% malolactic fermentation. 14 months in 75% new French oak barrels (Allier, Vosges) and 25% in stainless steel barrels.

Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay is a wine that bears the elegant imprint of its vineyard home – 68 acres that roll across the pastoral hill country of Los Carneros, a place where Napa Valley meets the northernmost rim of San Francisco Bay. The vineyard is named to honor the Red-shouldered Hawks and other birds of prey that play a vital role in sustainable farming practices (in this case keeping gopher and other rodent populations naturally under control).

Shafer Vineyards has produced classic Napa Valley wines for more than 40 years. The vineyard and cellar teams, led by winemaker Elias Fernandez, cultivate more than 200 acres of Shafer-owned vineyards. The winery has a decades-long commitment to sustainability. Beginning in the 1980s Shafer embraced farming techniques that eliminate insecticides and herbicides, and carefully conserve water resources. In 2004 Shafer became the first winery in the U.S. to go 100% solar.