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2021 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

May 26, 2024 - $36

Estimate

RATINGS

98James Suckling

...reductive and flinty personality with sliced pears, apples, lemons and light cream. White flowers... Full-bodied and very agile on the palate, staying calm until the end when it kicks in and runs long. Toasty finish with acid and phenolic structure... Goes on for minutes.

95Jeb Dunnuck

...richer yet still vibrant style... Orchard fruits, chalky minerality, toasted hazelnuts, and a beautiful sense of reduction all define the aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied, has perfect balance, integrated oak, and a great finish. It's the real deal.

94Wine Enthusiast

Seductive, almost-sweet aromas of butterscotch, toasted baguette and poached pears lead to a rich, luscious palate that echoes the aromas and coats the palate with vanilla, butter and pear syrup flavors...full body, ample oak spices and an extra-rich texture make this classic wine a show-stopper.

93The Wine Advocate

...boasts a smoky, mocha-tinged note on the nose, plus hints of crème brûlée and pineapple custard...medium to full-bodied, velvety and ripe, a bit open-knit texturally on the finish, but it's authoritatively flavored and true to form.

92Wine Spectator

...spicy, smoky litsea oil note and honeycomb overtone to the plump grilled peach, ripe melon and dried apricot flavors, which add an appealing fleshy accent, while a hint of buttery pie crust lingers.

92Vinous / IWC

...lovely. Orchard fruit, lemon confit, hazelnut and a kiss of sweet French oak take shape. This understated, creamy Chardonnay is super-expressive...

PRODUCER

Beringer

Beringer Vineyards is one of the oldest wine estates in California, having been founded in 1876 by German immigrant brothers, Jacob and Frederick Beringer. The brothers wanted to create a wine estate like the kind they admired in the Rhine Valley, and the Victorian mansion they built on their new property remains one of the most picturesque mansions in the Napa Valley. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a California Historical Landmark. 1971 the Jacobs family sold the estate to the Nestle food group, and in 1996 the estate was purchased by Foster’s Group, an Australian conglomerate specializing in beer and soft drinks. In 2011 Foster's spun off the winemaking division, which is today called Treasury Wine Estates. Beringer owns 3,000 acres in Napa Valley and nearby areas, and produces nearly 500,000 cases annually. Beringer’s signatures wines are its Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays. For many years the highly regarded Ed Sbragia was Beringer’s winemaker. The chief winemaker is Mark Beringer, great-great-grandson of Jacob Beringer.

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

TYPE

White Wine, Chardonnay

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.