2023 Cellar 13 Chardonnay – Award Winning Chardonnay With A Heritage
Photo courtesy of Cellar 13
The Winery
Cellar 13 is owned by Darin Winton and “13” is Darin’s lucky number and thus the name of the winery. Also, Darin’s heritage is Cherokee Indian and many of the wine names reflect the native language. Even before retiring from a local municipality, Darin got his start doing volunteer work at 3 Steves Winery in Livermore on his vacation, since he enjoyed their wines and even volunteered for two weeks in Chile during harvest. There he learned “old world” techniques in winemaking, especially for Carménère. The fascination of harvesting by hand and using gravity to move wine around aroused his curiosity. In 2017, this winery where he was doing his training, allowed him to make a few small batches of wine with Livermore Valley fruit. He is indebted to 3 Steves Winery for allowing him to experience winemaking from the ground up and their subtle oversight and tutelage. Pictured below is Darin and Gail Henderson, his fiancée who assists in the marketing and sales for Cellar 13.
Photo from Cellar 13
Just two years later in 2019, his 2017 Chardonnay won Double Gold at the San Francisco Wine Competition – a real accomplishment and validation for his new venture. So now in 2023 he has won the following awards for his Chardonnay:
* 2017 Chardonnay – Double Gold – 2019 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
* 2018 Chardonnay – Gold Medal Winner 94 points – 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition
* 2019 Chardonnay – Best in Class Winner – 2021 Livermore Valley Uncorked Wine Competition (Best Chardonnay in Livermore), Gold Medal Winner – 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition
Recently he won the following awards/score from Sunset International Wine Competition:
Photo from Cellar 13
In 2017 Darin produced 180 cases and in 2019 production increased to 475 cases. Beyond 2020, Darin has created a wine club and in 2023 produced about 800 cases. He has introduced many new wines into his portfolio (Albariño, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and both white and red blends. All his wines are winning awards from various organizations! He is a man on mission to bring some extraordinary wines to market in a very short time!
The Wine – “Wine is bottled Poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This is the 4th vintage of Cellar 13’s award winning Chardonnay. It was aged 8 months in 20% new French oak, 60% in neutral oak and 20% in stainless steel. The wine provided a good acidity and balance with the fruit. The grapes came from the Kalthoff Common vineyard in Livermore AVA.
First, on the eyes a medium tone of gold glistened in the glass for the fresh and clean Chardonnay. The wine had a medium viscosity with a slight bent towards medium-heavy. On the nose unmistakenly green apples rose to meet the imbiber. On the palate the same green apples were the dominant taste in the mouth. Secondary flavors were debated during the meal as being similar to a faint Sauvignon Blanc with lemon and even lime being present in restrained quantities. On the finish only a hint of oak with an earthy and stone fruit providing a complete finish.
The wine is 13.9% alcohol and sells for $33/bottle.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The food pairing was a lemon chicken dish with lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, white wine and butter. Accompanied by long and short grain rice and sautéed snap peas. The wine paired extremely well with the lemon chicken and the fresh zesty Chardonnay for a very nice meal.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
That said, I was really looking forward to dessert! A freshly made pineapple upside down cake made the meal complete! Note: the wine was not paired with the cake!
Sláinte,
Michael