Most of the Chardonnay fruit for this wine comes from Pahlmeyer’s Waters Ranch property on Atlas Peak at the southern end of Napa Valley, near the city of Napa itself. The vineyards are planted in rocky soils ranging in altitude between 1,500 and 2,100 feet in elevation, where warm days and cool nights deliver ripe, intensely flavored Chardonnay. The remaining 20 percent of the grapes come from the winery’s Wayfarer Farm on the Sonoma Coast, where cooler temperatures and well-drained sandy soils keep the fruit zesty and on point.

Pahlmeyer was founded by Jayson Pahlmeyer and his friend John Caldwell, and since the mid-1980s has been a seminal force in Napa Valley, earning much critical acclaim for its Bordeaux-inspired Cabernet blends and boldly flavored Chardonnays. Since its inception, famed winemakers like Randy Dunn, Bob Levy and Helen Turley have made wine at Pahlmeyer, but for the last decade the winemaker has been Erin Green, a protégé of Helen Turley’s since 1985.