PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
ZD Wines first produced this exact style of Chardonnay back in 1980, and it remains the winery's flagship wine to this day — a genuine point of pride for a winery that's stayed entirely family-owned and operated across three generations of the deLeuze family in the heart of Napa Valley. The 2024 vintage marks ZD's 56th harvest, and the winery calls it "a great year" — a warm season with bountiful sunlight let the grapes reach optimal ripeness while somehow still maintaining vibrant natural acidity, resulting in what ZD's own team describes as "an exceptional varietal expression."
That confidence has been backed up by genuine, independent competition results: the 2024 vintage earned 94 Points and a Platinum medal at the Monterey International Wine Competition, alongside 93 Points and a Gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition — two of the most respected, high-volume judged competitions in American wine, both reached through blind tasting against a huge field of competitors.
Rather than commit to a single vineyard or even a single region, ZD sources this Chardonnay from certified organic grapes across four distinct, cool coastal appellations: Napa Carneros, Sonoma Carneros, Monterey, and Santa Barbara — a genuinely deliberate strategy that lets the winemaking team draw the best character from multiple distinct coastal climates in a single bottle. Every grape is hand-harvested at night, a detail that helps preserve freshness before the fruit ever reaches the cellar, and each individual vineyard lot is fermented entirely separately. The wine is 100% barrel fermented in ZD's own custom-designed cellar room, held at a notably cool 48°F — a long, patient fermentation that builds optimal lees contact for richness and depth while deliberately preventing malolactic fermentation, preserving the bright, natural acidity the coastal fruit brings to the blend. The finished wine then rests 10 months in 100% American oak barrels before bottling.
Ken's Wine Guide's independent tasting found "a very fragrant oak and pineapple bouquet with hints of butterscotch, marshmallow, and honeysuckle," describing the palate as "medium bodied with integrated medium plus acidity," the mouthfeel "balanced, round, fresh and very flavorful," delivering "oak influenced green apple, butterscotch, and toasted coconut blend with notes of mango and nectarine," alongside "hints of banana custard and chamomile tea," closing dry with flavors and acidity that "linger nicely" — the reviewer's own pairing suggestion: "fish tacos with a mango salsa." ZD's own official notes describe a medium-yellow hue, with aromas "bursting of tropical fruit, candied apricot, orange blossom, and grapefruit rind" mingling with coconut, developing on the palate into "a distinct richness of ripe pineapple, lemon curd, and balanced flavors of guava and tangerine," the acidity "mouthwatering" throughout, closing "vibrant, complex," and finishing with vanillin notes for "a long-lasting mouthfeel." This is genuinely rich, well-balanced, and now independently decorated California Chardonnay from a winery with more than four decades of proven consistency behind this exact wine.
ZD Wines is family-owned and operated across three generations of the deLeuze family, based in the heart of Napa Valley. The winery first produced this Chardonnay in 1980, and it remains ZD's flagship wine today. The 2024 vintage represents ZD's 56th harvest, sourced entirely from certified organic Chardonnay grapes grown across four cool coastal appellations: Napa Carneros, Sonoma Carneros, Monterey, and Santa Barbara.
Grapes are hand-harvested at night to preserve freshness, with each individual vineyard lot fermented separately. The wine is 100% barrel fermented in ZD's custom-designed cellar room at a cool 48°F — a long, patient fermentation process that builds lees contact for richness and depth while preventing malolactic fermentation, preserving the bright natural acidity of the coastal fruit. The finished wine rests 10 months in 100% American oak barrels before bottling.
94 Points, Platinum Medal — Monterey International Wine Competition
93 Points, Gold Medal — San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Ken's Wine Guide (extended independent review, June 26, 2026):
"This clear and medium gold colored Chardonnay from ZD opens with a very fragrant oak and pineapple bouquet with hints of butterscotch, marshmallow, and honeysuckle. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with integrated medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is balanced, round, fresh and very flavorful. Those flavors are an oak influenced green apple, butterscotch, and toasted coconut blend with notes of mango and nectarine. We also detected hints of banana custard and chamomile tea. The finish is dry, and its flavors and acidity linger nicely. We would pair this oak lovers Chard with fish tacos with a mango salsa."
ZD Wines (official tasting notes):
"This Chardonnay displays a medium-yellow hue hinting at the wine's intensity. Aromas bursting of tropical fruit, candied apricot, orange blossom, and grapefruit rind mingle with coconut. The palate follows through with a distinct richness of ripe pineapple, lemon curd, and balanced flavors of guava and tangerine. The acidity in this wine is mouthwatering. In ZD's signature Chardonnay style, the wine is vibrant, complex, and finishes with vanillin notes, resulting in a long-lasting mouthfeel."
Nose
Medium-yellow to golden hue. Tropical fruit and candied apricot lead, joined by orange blossom, grapefruit rind, and coconut, alongside crème brûlée, green apple, Meyer lemon zest, pineapple, and mango. A fragrant oak character carries butterscotch, marshmallow, and honeysuckle.
Palate
Rich and full, with ripe pineapple, lemon curd, guava, and tangerine, balanced by mouthwatering acidity. Oak-influenced green apple, toasted coconut, mango, and nectarine build further complexity, with hints of banana custard and chamomile tea.
Finish
Vibrant, complex, and long-lasting, closing with vanillin notes and lingering acidity — dry, with flavor that carries well after the sip.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Appellation | California (Napa Carneros, Sonoma Carneros, Monterey, Santa Barbara) |
| Variety | 100% Chardonnay |
| Vintage | 2024 (ZD's 56th harvest) |
| Producer | ZD Wines — family-owned, 3 generations of the deLeuze family |
| Flagship Since | 1980 |
| Farming | Certified organic |
| Harvest | Hand-picked, at night |
| Fermentation | 100% barrel fermented, cool 48°F, no malolactic |
| Aging | 10 months, 100% American oak |
| Critics | 94 Points, Platinum — Monterey International Wine Competition · 93 Points, Gold — San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition |
| Style / Identity | Rich, tropical, well-balanced, and now award-winning California Chardonnay — ZD's flagship wine for over four decades |
| Aromas & Flavors | Tropical fruit, candied apricot, orange blossom, coconut, pineapple, lemon curd, guava, tangerine |
| Bottle Size | 750ml |
Bottle Size: All bottles are 750ML/700ML unless otherwise noted.
21 and Over: Adult Signature Required
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