Gilbert Cellars, Unoaked Chardonnay 2023, Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima Valley, WA

This Chardonnay is aged 100% in stainless steel and is bright with notes of green apple, pineapple, and guava, with refreshing acidity and a streak of minerality. Exclusive to Bonde.

COUNTRY: USA

STATE: Washington

APPELLATION (AVA): Columbia Valley

REGION: Columbia Valley

SUBREGION: Yakima Valley

VINEYARD: 68% Chukar Vineyard, 32% Peach 10 Vineyard

VINTAGE: 2023

GRAPES: 100% Chardonnay

SOIL: Chark Vineyard - Starbuck loam (stony, shallow layer of silt) over solid basalt 

PRACTICE: Certified sustainable

VINIFICATION: Hand-harvested, cold ferment. Aged in stainless steel for three months. 

PRODUCTION: 980 cases produced

STYLE: Still

WINE TO SOFA, TABLE, OR OCCASION: Table

COLOR: Pale gold

BODY: Light to medium bodied

TASTE: Dry

PRIMARY AROMAS: Stone fruit, granny smith apple, guava, pineapple, lychee

FLAVOR: Apricot, rainier cherry, cucumber, minerality

FORMAT: 750 ml

ALCOHOL: 13.5%

SERVICE AND SUGGESTION: Enjoy with white fish or seafood such as shrimp, clams, mussels, or langostines.

ABOUT THE PRODUCER: Gilbert Cellars
Gilbert Cellars is a family-run winery in Yakima, Washington, focusing on handcrafted, small batches of authentic Washington wines, with a strong sense of community and hospitality. With a deep, five generations-old connection to the Yakima Valley farming land (and its own 8,200-foot Gilbert Peak!), the Gilbert family and their partners dedicate their energies and skills to create wines that celebrate the terroir and the communities in it. Gloria and Charlie Gilbert, Le Cordon Bleu alumni and world-class hospitality masters, partnered with Justin Neufeld, a Washington winemaking veteran with a deep knowledge of the terroir diversities in Columbia Valley, to bottle the best expressions of Yakima Valley vintage after vintage.

ABOUT THE WINEMAKER: Dusty Jenkins

Winemaker Dusty Jenkins is from Yakima Valley, but despite being in a great place for it, he didn’t jump straight into wine. Instead, he took a detour through LA and New York working in film before returning to his Washington roots, trading in film dark rooms for the vineyard and cellar at Gilbert Cellars. Dusty has been the head winemaker since 2022, making 2023 his first vintage with Gilbert Cellars.

ABOUT THE VINEYARDS:
Chukar Vineyard
A stone’s throw from the Columbia River, Nine Canyons Vineyard is tucked amid 250 acres of cherry and apple orchards, just south of the thriving city of Kennewick. Curtiss Gilbert planted its deeply terraced hillsides with grapes in 2009. Pinot Noir lines the vineyard’s north-facing slope, while Malbec, Chardonnay, and Carménère fill out its much warmer south-facing slope. The soil here is Starbuck loam, a stony, shallow layer of silt that covers a solid layer of basalt. Exceptionally well drained and nonfertile, the loam helps minimize vigor in the vines, allowing for a balanced canopy in the production of low-yield wine grapes. Our first Horse Heaven Hills vineyard, this gem should grow in quality and intrigue.