Foley Johnson Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2012
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For years, Bill Foley and his wife, Carol Johnson Foley, had dreamt of opening a winery bearing their name in Napa Valley. They both enjoyed the grandeur of Napa’s scenery and the rhythm of its lifestyle, and, more importantly, the couple loved the opulence and complexity of Napa’s wines. With the launch of Foley Johnson in 2012, the Foleys have created a world-class winery with premier vineyards and a historic tasting room right in the heart of America’s preeminent wine-growing region.
Located along Highway 29 in the prestigious Rutherford AVA, Foley Johnson exemplifies the understated elegance and casual warmth of the Valley. The winery produces two tiers of wines: Napa Valley and Handmade. The Napa Valley tier focuses on Bordeaux varieties from the nearly 50 acres of estate vineyards around the winery in Rutherford. The Handmade tier features special small-lot bottlings from some of the renowned winemakers in the Foley Family Wines group of wineries including Dave Lattin of Kuleto, Leslie Renaud of Lincourt, Paul Warson of Firestone, Mark Lyon of Sebastiani and Lisa Bishop Forbes of Chalk Hill.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.