2019 Wayfarer Wines Chardonnay Cuvée Cleo

Tasting Notes

Notes of hawthorn and Acacia emerge from the glass with elements of quince, pear and lemon zest. The wine enters the palate with great elegance. Linear acidity creates focus, while wonderful notes of nectarine, lemon curd and roasted almond are enveloped in the generous breadth of the palate. A sensation of minerality and hints of chalkiness complete the experience.

Winemaking Notes

The block was hand-picked and firm, cool clusters were delivered to the winery before sunrise. The fruit was hand-sorted then gently pressed to tank, where the juice settled overnight before being carefully racked to barrel. Native yeast slowly guided alcoholic and malolactic fermentations. The wine aged sur lie without any racking for 15 months in a single new French oak barrel. It was carefully racked off its lees before being bottled without any fining or filtration.

Vintage Notes

2019 began with several months of heavy rainfall. Chardonnay shoots emerged a week later than normal but growth advanced quickly during a warm April, and energy was plentiful in the soil after late rains in May.

Flowering was also a week later than normal but aligned wonderfully with a change in the weather, as rain clouds gave way to clear skies in June. The summer of 2019 was full of sunshine, yet temperatures were moderate to cool. The average high temperature through July and August was 81 degrees, perfect for gradual ripening.

In drier and warmer vintages, we are more proactive with mowing cover crop, leaf and lateral removal and irrigating the driest blocks, but in 2019 we were able to be patient with the vines. We allowed them to naturally adjust to the energy in the soil and waited until the vines reached their optimal point before moving in with canopy work to help the transition from vegetative growth to fruit maturation. By the time veraison began in early August, the vines were tracking only a few days later than normal. 40 days later, we picked our first Chardonnay on September 13th, and concluded harvest on October 5th.

Blocks

Clones

Hyde

Critics

99 Points

Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com, July 2021

The 2019 Chardonnay Cuvée Cleo is a smaller production release that's a cellar selection of the best Chardonnay on the estate. Its style is more tight, closed, and mineral-driven compared to the Wayfarer Vineyard release, but it offers similar orchard fruits, chalky minerality, white flowers, and toasty nuances. Brilliant on the palate as well, it's medium to full-bodied, with a terrific spine of acidity, flawless balance, and brilliant length on the finish. This is a spectacular wine on all accounts and I suspect the white of the vintage. It too will benefit from a year or so in bottle and cruise for a good decade.

97+ Points

Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate, June 2021

The 2019 Chardonnay Cuvée Cleo is the first rendition of a barrel selection of the best Chardonnay from Wayfarer's 8.5 planted acres. A single barrel of Hyde clone fruit was fermented in barrel and aged for 15 months without racking. It has a singular personality, with aromas of cured meats, salted almonds, spring honey and quince, although it continually shifts and evolves as it spends time in the glass. It's equally dynamic in the mouth, with honeyed fruits clinging to a spine of bright acidity and mineral tones. It's stunning now but will improve over the next 2-3 years in bottle and has a long life ahead in the cellar.

95 Points

Antonio Galloni, Vinous, January 2021

A new wine in this range, the 2019 Chardonnay Cuvée Cleo is all Hyde Clone Chardonnay, from vines planted in 2003. Oily, rich and beautifully textured, the Cuvée Cleo captures a striking interplay of textural intensity and mineral-driven intensity. Lemon confit, chamomile, dried flowers, mint and white pepper are some of the notes that pulse through this striking, vivid Chardonnay. The 2019 is a knock-out.