2018 Joseph Phelps Chardonnay Freestone Vineyards Pastorale Vineyard
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2018 Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard, aged 13 months in 55% new French oak, has open-knit aromas of baked yellow apples, lemon meringue, beeswax and spices. In the mouth, it's medium-bodied and satiny in texture, with minerally fruits, bright acidity and a delicate finish. This is youthfully coiled and will benefit from another year or two in bottle. 1,050 cases produced.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Similarly colored, the 2018 Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard comes from a site on the Sonoma Coast and was brought up in 55% new French oak. It's a tighter, more focused wine than the Freestone Vineyard cuvée and has classy notes of white flower, crushed citrus, salty minerality, honey, and white currants. This fresh, focused beauty has balance, perfectly integrated acidity, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's certainly more reserved and understated at this point compared to the Freestone Vineyard and is going to benefit from another year or two in bottle. It should keep for over a decade.
The 2018 Chardonnay Pastorale Vineyard is complex and beautifully layered from the very first taste. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of aromas, flavors and textures. Lemon confit, white pepper and flowers give the 2018 aromatic brightness, but there’s also plenty of mid-palate pliancy and depth to balance things out. I especially like the wine’s palpable weight and strong-voiced character.
About the producer
California winery Joseph Phelps is best known for its flagship Insignia cuvée, one of the first and finest proprietary red wines in the Napa Valley.