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Long-term Pre-arrival Items
Long Term Pre-arrival Definition: Ordering wine directly through us from our supplier partners in Europe in advance of the item’s physical arrival in the US.
Long Term Pre-arrival sales ensure you’re getting the best possible price and that you have also secured the product before it hits the normal retail supply chain. The lead time for Pre-arrival goods is generally 4–8 months, sometimes longer based on supply chain and the logistics of transporting goods overseas. The expectation, from our team, is to communicate to the customer the location of their purchase every step of the way.
This product is offered as a full case purchase option, minimum order quantities may be applicable. When available, multiple case options will be presented. If you are purchasing a Pre-Arrival item you must order a solid case.
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Items listed as "rapid ship" are in stock and available for immediate pickup or shipment. Those that do not have the "rapid ship" icon are housed with our supplier and must be transferred to our warehouse before they can be picked up or shipped. This requires 4-6 business days but usually occurs sooner. Some products will list both options of availability as there will be a certain number in stock, with the option to order additional bottles to be transferred from the supplier.
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Sample image only.Please see Item description for product Information. When ordering, the item shipped will match the product listing if there are any discrepancies. Do not order solely on the label if you feel it does not match product description.
SKU 970954
$728.16/case
$60.68/bottle
Tariffs included
Out of stock
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The 2022 Chardonnay Watson Ranch comes from vines planted in calcareous clay over limestone in 1993 in southern Napa County. Matured for 10 months in used French oak, it has savory scents of cheese rind, button mushrooms, beeswax, jasmine and white orchard fruit. The light-bodied palate is understated and perfumed. Its creamy texture is balanced by bright acidity, and it has a long, fragrant finish.
Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.
Country
United States
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Region
California
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Appellation
Napa Valley
When it comes to New World wines, and especially wines from the United States of America, Napa Valley is something of a standard bearer. Over its relatively short history, it has managed to transform itself from being a fairly insignificant region, to becoming one of the most important and highly regarding wine locations on earth. With an ideal climate for viticulture, blazing sunshine and a low level of rainfall, this valley is shielded on many sides by mountain ranges which help it maintain a consistent level of heat, light and moisture throughout the year. Today, Napa Valley is a home of innovation and quality, with dozens of grape varietals thriving in the fertile soils. However, the main varietals grown there have always been Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Zinfandel, and the wines they produce are constantly lauded by critics and competitions across the globe.
WA92pts
Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay Watson Ranch comes from vines planted in calcareous clay over limestone in 1993 in southern Napa County. Matured for 10 months in used French oak, it has savory scents of cheese rind, button mushrooms, beeswax, jasmine and white orchard fruit. The light-bodied palate is understated and perfumed. Its creamy texture is balanced by bright acidity, and it has a long, fragrant finish.
