2013 White Rock Vineyards Chardonnay Estate Napa Valley 750 ml

French Laundry Wine List: “Just below Kongsgaard ($625), Aubert ($295),
and Kistler ($295)”

Our jobs aren’t as simple as one might think. As importers of more than 30 years, we traveled the world’s wine trails, tasting in thousands of cellars and ferreting out inspired bottles. The travel schedule was grinding, as were the three-a-day tastings. We often slept fitfully on full stomachs. Still, rarely were we obliged to negotiate with suppliers. For the most part, the price was the price, take it or leave it.

WineAccess is something else altogether. With a membership of more than 500,000, we’re expected to exercise our buying muscles on each purchase, politely battling it out with wineries and importers. Most of the time, we get what we’re looking for. But every so often, just when we think we’ve reached the finish line, the rug is pulled out from under us.

This is one of those times.

We first tasted the 2013 White Rock Chardonnay on release in October, shortly after Antonio Galloni posted a rave 93-point review. The wine was everything Vinous suggested — rich, vibrant, and muscular, one of those Napa Valley Chardonnays that makes one wonder why anyone would buy a bottle of Rombauer again. We contacted the winery a few days later and began what turned out to be a two-month discussion about allocation and price.

On October 10th, we exchanged emails with White Rock, fully expecting that the offer was in the bag. Then, for reasons we couldn’t understand — until now — the winery went dark.

Few outside the industry understand the power of Thomas Keller’s French Laundry. One of just a handful of Michelin 3-star restaurants in the United States, well-heeled diners wait three months for a table, dropping over $300 per person. A placement on The French Laundry’s wine list is more than just another sale. It’s a ticket into hundreds of restaurants and retail shops around the country. Like E.F. Hutton, when Keller speaks, people listen.

Three weeks ago, unbeknownst to us, OUR White Rock Chardonnay was presented to the sommelier at 6640 Washington Street in Yountville. On Friday, the first delivery was made, as White Rock took its rightful place beneath Kongsgaard “The Judge” ($625/bottle), Kistler “Hyde Vineyard” ($295), and Marc Aubert’s “Sugar Shack” Chardonnay ($295). Our hope of shaving a couple bucks off the WineAccess member price was shattered.

The 2013 White Rock Chardonnay is brilliant green-gold. Piercing aromas of citronelle, lemon curd, and ripe apple. Stony and mineral. Rich, weighty, and beautifully delineated on the attack, infused with fine layers of Chablisien complexity, finishing with good tautness and length. Drink now-2023.

$34 on release. $32 today — as The French Laundry scoops WineAccess. Shipping included on 4.