Bernardus Chardonnay Monterey County 2022 (Magnum 1.5L)

The tide has come in… and it’s a tropical ocean of glowing gold! We are back with more big, beautiful, magnum-size bottles from Bernardus – this time, Chardonnay!

A giant, stately-looking bottle is such an effective move for the visual impact alone. This birthday is SIGNIFICANT. This wedding is MAGNIFICENT. This retirement is MOMENTOUS. This gift is IMPRESSIVE. This assemblage of misfits in the living room is a PARTY. Fourteen inches tall and about the same in circumference – 1.5 liters is just way cooler. 

When the wine tastes fantastic, too, you’ve really done good work. Well, technically, the work was done by winemaker Jim McCabe, who’s climbed the ranks at Bernardus since 2009. With the 2022 Chardonnay blend, he’s built a rich, crackling-fresh concoction from three Monterey County appellations – Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Carmel Valley – plus a little dab from Carneros, which is up here near the Invino office 45 minutes north of San Francisco. Carneros is cooler, so he probably hooked it in for an extra sprinkling of acid, citrus, and mineral. The result is classic California satisfaction – but with a subtle modern slant that makes you feel like you’re onto something a little hipper.

The nose is a daydream of banana leaf, sundried linen, summer hay, golden kiwi, and Gravenstein apple. A whiff of vanilla carries you into a palate of graham cracker soaking up juicy mango and lemon custard. Then a crescendo of amber perfume and sweet Sonoma Crane melon drifts into plumeria flower and brown rice on the close. Tropical trance! Wine Enthusiast rated this 92 points and noted: “Aromas of honeysuckle, pear and warm pastry lead into a tightly woven palate full of Asian pear, jicama and minty lime-peel flavors.” A lot of pleasure for the price.

The wine saw 23% new oak and underwent malolactic fermentation, with barrels hand-stirred every two weeks until blending.

Bernardus was founded in Carmel Valley by the adventurous Dutchman Bernardus (Ben) Pon, who competed in skeet shooting at the 1972 Munich Olympics, raced Porsches, built a mainstay Monterey winery, and was the son of the man who sketched the original concept for the VW Bus. Tell that to the lucky recipient when you present one of these beauties as a gift, and they will not forget it. There’s no minimum order to get our half-off pricing, but magnums age longer than standard bottles, so feel confident getting a good stash of these.