Wine of the week: Newton, 2018 Napa Valley Chardonnay

Just over a year ago, on Sept. 27, 2020, the Glass fire sparked and began its sweep through Napa Valley. In the 23 days it burned, it destroyed the Newton Vineyard in St. Helena and all but 4 of its 73 acres of vines.

“The magnitude of the Glass fire and destruction that it had on the greater Napa community and specifically Newton definitely makes you pause,” said Andrew Holve, Newton’s winemaker. “It hurt to lose all the effort that you put into crafting two vintages of wine.”

Holve is behind our wine of the week winner — the Newton, 2018 Napa Valley Chardonnay, 13.5%, $55. Crafted before the Glass fire blazed through the region, this chardonnay is striking. It has aromas and flavors of green apple, Asian pear and jasmine. It’s lush yet balanced, with crisp acid that keeps the rich toffee and honeysuckle notes in check.

Other tasty chardonnays, with a range of prices, include: Husch, 2019 Mendocino Chardonnay, 13.9%, $15; Jordan, 2019 Russian River Valley, Sonoma County Chardonnay, 13.7%, $36; Merry Edwards, 2019 Olivet Lane, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County Chardonnay, 14.4%, $68; and Pedroncelli, 2019 Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County Chardonnay, 14.1%, $18.

As for the winning Newton chardonnay, Holve said the winery has made a name for itself over the years with this varietal.

“Newton has always been regarded for making world-class chardonnay, and there’s a ‘who’s who’ list of great winemakers that have imprinted their mark and added to the allure of our unfiltered chardonnay,” he said. “As the new winemaker, being surrounded by this legacy and striving to match up against some of the wines of our past is a definite challenge but part of the excitement to work at such a storied estate.”

Holve, 35, grew up in Sebastopol and saw firsthand the development of high-end pinot noir and chardonnay vineyards throughout west county. While his father was a doctor and his mother an artist, the couple planted a small hobby vineyard on their property.

“Lucky for them, they had my brother and me to do all the manual labor,” he said. “I was making wine at 10 years old, but when you’re a kid, you don’t recognize that wine can be a job.”

The curious hobbyist eventually worked in the labs and cellars of several prestigious Sonoma wineries, including MacRostie Winery and Ridge Vineyards, California Icon. In 2015 he graduated from UC Davis with a master’s degree in viticulture and enology, joining Newton in August of that year.

While the Glass fire presented serious challenges, Holve and the Newton team are determined stay upbeat.

As Laura Deyermond, who heads the viticulture team, said, “With the fires, yes, we lost the majority of our vineyard, but when else would you get the experience of rebuilding a whole vineyard from scratch? ... from irrigation system design (incorporating new technology and solar power) to row spacing, orientation and what the proper rootstocks and varieties are now for sites that we’ve had 40-plus years to learn about. ... Hopefully it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.