2022 Gibbs Vineyards Chardonnay Napa Valley 750 ml

We’re always keeping an eye out for one particular type of “Goldilocks” Chardonnay. We know them the second we taste them: the kind of Napa Valley Chardonnay that’s going to make both the Rombauer AND the Puligny-Montrachet drinker happy. All the ripeness you want from Napa—with the verve you crave as someone who loves the Chardonnays of the world.

That’s the 2022 Gibbs Vineyards Chardonnay Napa Valley. It’s the kind of Chardonnay that was once common around Napa Valley—but is now almost impossible to find under $50. It sports a decadent bouquet of apples and dried apricots, and a kind of poise that struts its sterling vineyard sources.

This wine is such a dead-on ringer for a much more expensive Chardonnay because it shares a primary fruit source with some of those big names. “60% of this wine is from a Yountville vineyard we can't really talk about,” owner-winemaker Craig Handly told us as he took a sip. “We got a great deal on the fruit and they sell to some higher end labels.”

“The other 40% comes from Corotto Vineyard, planted in the 90s in Carneros,” he continued. This vineyard is right near Hudson Vineyards, and Craig says it “balances out the mid-palate and finish, complementing the up-front richness and juiciness of the Yountville fruit.”

Gibbs’ 2022 is a kind of “little black dress” in Napa Chardonnay: nothing too flashy, just well-tailored, understated, and high-class. Exactly our kind of wine.