2022 Firetree Vineyards Bunny Hills Single Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley 750 ml

For a new Chardonnay to catch our eye, it better break some ground, or at least deliver quality FAR beyond its price point. The 2022 Firetree Vineyards Bunny Hills Single Vineyard Chardonnay does both.

This is a Chardonnay that drinks like two or three times the price. Crafted by 100-point master Julien Fayard, it belongs with its brethren at and above the $100 level—we’re talking about Peter Michael and Aubert, some of the greatest Chardonnays made outside of Burgundy!

The Jimenez family, longtime wine lovers who were looking for an opportunity to create a multigenerational project, got extremely lucky in 2021. They got the opportunity to purchase the 70-acre Firetree Vineyard from Silverado Vineyards. Firetree had been used by Silverado for their single-vineyard Firetree Chardonnay—but now it’s being brought to its potential.

Fayard and Firetree are giving a jolt to this site near the northern boundary of Carneros, where the hills become higher and steeper than down near San Pablo Bay. The climate is therefore a bit sunnier than at the water’s edge, but that warmth is balanced by the cool wind and fog coming off the bay. The Chardonnay vines are planted in loamy soils rich in sandstone and shale. 

The Jimenez clan bought the plot in 2021, Fayard assumed winemaking duties in 2022—and just like that, they had a 95-point hit on their hands. Aged six months on the lees in stainless steel and concrete eggs, this is bright and beautifully balanced, with a medium body and complex layers of tree fruit and spice, revealing just a touch of oak. It’s a phenomenal bottle that stands with the best of California, bar none.