Littorai
Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California, USA
Past peak. Ripe banana, bruised apple, caramel.
Past peak. Ripe banana, bruised apple, caramel.
Jul 6th, 2024
Getting past it's prime, a lot of oak and acid has diminished. Still tasty though.
Getting past it's prime, a lot of oak and acid has diminished. Still tasty though.
Apr 9th, 2023
On the list at Norda in Göteborg. Popped and poured; served at cellar temperature. At this stage the 2014 Charles Heintz Vineyard is vinous, appearing a deep golden color with lovely aromas of desiccated stone fruits, nuts, squishy tropical fruit and some baking spices. On the palate, the aforementioned notes are confirmed and accompanied by a lovely, remarkably creamy texture. This is a rich Chardonnay however there is a good spine of acid that helps to proved a long, dry finish. Drink now.
On the list at Norda in Göteborg. Popped and poured; served at cellar temperature. At this stage the 2014 Charles Heintz Vineyard is vinous, appearing a deep golden color with lovely aromas of desiccated stone fruits, nuts, squishy tropical fruit and some baking spices. On the palate, the aforementioned notes are confirmed and accompanied by a lovely, remarkably creamy texture. This is a rich Chardonnay however there is a good spine of acid that helps to proved a long, dry finish. Drink now.
Jul 8th, 2022
Was fire when opened but died down quickly. Drink up. Lychee, pear and candied apple with some salinity.
Was fire when opened but died down quickly. Drink up. Lychee, pear and candied apple with some salinity.
Feb 12th, 2021
An absolutely stunning lunch from @joe leatherwood today. 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 5 reds and 1 dessert wine. All served blind.
En mag. Blown away that this was a 17yr old chard. Incredibly powerful and youthful. It was more floral than most Cali chards, but it still had sea salt, rich mango and a dense mid palate full of juicy stone fruits with a very round finish. CHeintz vineyard Chardonnays are some of my favorites and I normally can identify them fairly easy but with its age, I didn’t get any of the bright and ripe guava I normally get from CHeintz. I still guessed this was Cali chard, but was shocked it was holding up this good with the age on it!
An absolutely stunning lunch from @joe leatherwood today. 1 sparkler, 2 whites, 5 reds and 1 dessert wine. All served blind.
En mag. Blown away that this was a 17yr old chard. Incredibly powerful and youthful. It was more floral than most Cali chards, but it still had sea salt, rich mango and a dense mid palate full of juicy stone fruits with a very round finish. CHeintz vineyard Chardonnays are some of my favorites and I normally can identify them fairly easy but with its age, I didn’t get any of the bright and ripe guava I normally get from CHeintz. I still guessed this was Cali chard, but was shocked it was holding up this good with the age on it!
Heintz fruit is some of my favorite and for some reason, it’s normally easy for me to identify, this being no different. I always get an overload of guava with Heintz Chardonnays, like this one, on the nose. Big aromatics of roasted Meyer lemon and ripe tropical fruits. Oak isn’t a star here, as the acidity takes center stage. Sharp and focused down the middle. Apricot, underripe pineapple and lemon oil on the palate. 13.2 ABV. I know Littorai picks super early, so it’s impressive that they are able to get this beautiful amount of pure fruit.
I followed this over 2 days and day 1 was sharp acidity and led me to believe this needs another few years to integrate. Day 2, the acidity mellowed and the fruit really warmed and became very perfumed. I’d probably hold, but no harm in opening now if you have time to follow/enjoy it.
Heintz fruit is some of my favorite and for some reason, it’s normally easy for me to identify, this being no different. I always get an overload of guava with Heintz Chardonnays, like this one, on the nose. Big aromatics of roasted Meyer lemon and ripe tropical fruits. Oak isn’t a star here, as the acidity takes center stage. Sharp and focused down the middle. Apricot, underripe pineapple and lemon oil on the palate. 13.2 ABV. I know Littorai picks super early, so it’s impressive that they are able to get this beautiful amount of pure fruit.
I followed this over 2 days and day 1 was sharp acidity and led me to believe this needs another few years to integrate. Day 2, the acidity mellowed and the fruit really warmed and became very perfumed. I’d probably hold, but no harm in opening now if you have time to follow/enjoy it.
Weston hosted Friday group today and was it definitely a can’t miss tasting. Wow! Absolutely knocked it out of the park with heavy hitter after heavy hitter. Similar to Wednesday group, all wines are tasted blind.
Possibly the most unique Cali chard I’ve come across. Most guessed Marsanne/Roussane Blend. The nose was so tropical/citrus like...apricot, pineapple and an oily finish. I wondered if it could be an Alsatian Pinot Gris based on the oily finish. Crazy.
Weston hosted Friday group today and was it definitely a can’t miss tasting. Wow! Absolutely knocked it out of the park with heavy hitter after heavy hitter. Similar to Wednesday group, all wines are tasted blind.
Possibly the most unique Cali chard I’ve come across. Most guessed Marsanne/Roussane Blend. The nose was so tropical/citrus like...apricot, pineapple and an oily finish. I wondered if it could be an Alsatian Pinot Gris based on the oily finish. Crazy.