2019 Hoopes Family Vineyard Chardonnay Napa Valley 750 ml

When Lindsay Hoopes of Hoopes Family Vineyard calls, we always pick up. Aside from being one of the most innovative and intuitive vintners in Napa Valley, Lindsay and her team are the authors of some of our favorite wines—and this 2019 Chardonnay is one of them.  

A tiny-production bottling made from two family-owned sites, every last case was teed up to pour and sell at the Hoopes tasting room in Oakville. But thanks to Wine Access members’ absolutely wild support for the kind of artisanal, family-owned quality that Hoopes brings, we have another allocation of this luxurious Chardonnay.

A combination of grapes from Atlas Peak and the valley floor gives the 2019 Hoopes Napa Chardonnay a beautiful mix of fruit. It’s bursting with ripe pear, golden apple, and pineapple, all braced with the Meyer lemon citrus and vivacity that can only be achieved in cooler climes. The end result, after a modest time in French oak, is a pure Napa Valley Chardonnay that shows off a Puligny-Montrachet-like verve—and boasts the kind of price tag that’s rare in both places. 

“This gives a little taste of what we do best,” Lindsay said about the Chardonnay, whose source sites will soon be bound for vineyard-designate bottlings. “The first site is just south of Yountville Hill, and benefits from the shade of the hill. It’s effectively at the fog border—when the fog rolls up from San Pablo Bay, that’s basically as far as it goes.” 

The Yountville grapes offer pear, apple, and citrus components that contrast with the steely, maritime character of Napa Chardonnay grown closer to the water—but the Hoopes Chardonnay still captures that liveliness. Since 1/3rd of the grapes come from their site on Atlas Peak, the wine’s ripe valley-floor fruit is balanced by a stunning minerality and crisp coolness. 

After undergoing 35% malolactic fermentation and aging ten months on the lees in 35% new French oak, the result is a robust Chardonnay with impressive leanness and agility. Perfect on its own yet heavenly with seared salmon, it’s got a combination of Napa Valley richness and Puligny-type energy that’s hard to find at all—and almost impossible to secure under $50. 

Today, thanks to our friendship with Lindsay Hoopes, Wine Access members have a rare shot at this golden wine. We recommend that fans of Chardonnay and white wines in general think of this offer like we think of a call from Lindsay Hoopes: Missing it is not an option.