2021 Silenus - Chardonnay Napa

This year, Minuty has chosen Australian artist Elliott Routledge to dress the iconic M cuvée.
With this creation, Minuty offers us an ode to the French Riviera: it embodies the excellence and refinement of the terroirs of Provence. The new design features colors and motifs inspired by the South-East of France, highlighting Minuty's home region and the production of the famous cuvée M.

-Importer notes

The Wine
Blended from the traditional Bordeaux varietals, including our own coveted grapes,
the Chappellet Mountain Cuvée Proprietor’s Blend builds on our more than five
decades of experience crafting great mountain-grown wines. Each grape variety in
the cuvée contributes nuances that complement each other. The result is a complex
array of aromas and flavors that deliver pure pleasure in a glass. Made for more
near-term enjoyment, this is the wine to choose when you’re looking for vivid,
mouthfilling fruit flavors.

Growing Season & Harvest
With early season rains saturating soils and a cool spring and summer that ensured
generous hangtime, 2023 offered perfect weather that took the grapes to another
level. To provide airflow and light on the grapes during a cool vintage, we pruned
and leafed early and often. Though later than normal, both budbreak and bloom
were excellent with overall yields up slightly. The weather stayed cool into fall,
with only one September day above 90° F, before things warmed up in October,
providing a final push to ripeness. Though harvest was compact, we were able to
pick everything at the ideal moment, yielding impeccably balanced red wines with
concentrated color, seamless tannins and an abundance of fruit and spice.

Tasting Notes
This beautifully aromatic wine leaps from the glass with effusive aromas of
dark cherry, blackberry and plum, as well as French oak-inspired hints of clove,
cardamom and cedar and notions of black pepper and fresh herbs. On the
richly textured palate, lush ripe berry layers echo the aromas, with fine-grained
tannins framing the luxurious flavors as they glide to a lingering dark chocolate
and anise finish

-Winery notes