2017 Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay Estate Grown Napa Valley 750 ml

The name Chateau Montelena has been gilded ever since their Chardonnay took home the top prize at the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting. Mike Grgich—who had emigrated from Croatia and worked under André Tchelistcheff and Robert Mondavi—was the winemaker behind that Chardonnay. Needless to say, its performance made him a star. 

Grgich Hills is still living up to the expectations Mike set four decades ago: Last vintage was one of our top-selling Chardonnays of the year, earning a staggering 74 five-star ratings from Wine Access members: One called it “as rich as a Corton Charlemagne,” and another deemed it “one of the best Chardonnays available at the price.”

Today we’re thrilled to have the 2017 Grgich Hills Estate Grown Chardonnay, which delivers just as convincingly: It’s a true Napa Valley classic that Wine Advocate rated alongside La Jota and Kistler—at 1/3 of the price. 

This is a timeless expression of what put California Chardonnay on the map. Deep and golden-cored in the glass, it’s got highly aromatic and inviting layers of acacia leading into aromas of racy pineapple and nectarine. The mouthfeel is just as generous, showcasing fresh-cut pineapple, yellow apples, and ginger. The rich and rounded mouthfeel boasts an absolutely vibrating energy through its crisp, long finish. There are few California wines with this kind of royal lineage, and even fewer that can be had for a price like this: just $37 per bottle. For lovers of Chardonnay and California’s iconic white wines, Grgich Hills is a cellar must.

There’s a simple reason that Grgich Hills Chardonnay causes waves of anticipation when we see it on our tasting table: There might be no wine more directly related to California’s single most famous Chardonnay of all time, the one that won the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.  

The year after he conquered Paris, Mike Grgich founded Grgich Hills, and the first vintage of that Chardonnay beat 221 others in a blind tasting known as “The Great Chicago Chardonnay Showdown.” From then on Mike was the “King of Chardonnay,” and his wine was one of the marquee Chardonnays of California. It went on to be served by two U.S. Presidents (both parties!), Queen Elizabeth II, and the President of France—no shock, since Mike’s the man who'd topped France’s best.

Mike’s father once told him that knowledge was more important than property, and that ethos lives in the succession at Grgich Hills. While many famous winemakers have gone big with their brands over the years, Grgich has remained family-run. The wines are now crafted by Mike’s nephew Ivo Jeramaz, who, inspired by his uncle’s success, came to the USA from Croatia in the 1980s. From Montelena, through Mike, to Grgich Hills today—the connection to California’s greatest Chardonnay glory couldn’t get any more direct.  

Ivo is fanatical about making Chardonnay that reflects the estate’s organically farmed vineyards in Carneros and American Canyon in the cool southern end of Napa Valley. He barrel-ferments the wine on native yeast—which he feels is the best way to get a true expression of their unique sites—before aging it for ten months in French oak (40% new). The Chardonnay undergoes no malolactic fermentation, which is why Grgich has a distinct acidic verve that recalls the energy of great white Burgundy.

This is a truly iconic Chardonnay, in the tradition of the California bottling that beat the Burgundies. Every white wine lover’s cellar should have a few.