2021 Gård Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay, Royal Slope
94 pts – Jeremy Young, Int’l Wine Report
92 pts – Sean Sullivan
Tasting Notes
Flambéed pineapple, wet stones, custard apple, honeycomb, butterscotch, and white flowers. Swirling brings ripe stone fruits, citrus rind, roasted marshmallows, nutmeg, and oak spice. The mouthfeel is broad, with remarkable structure and a phenomenal acid presentation. Ripe stone fruits dominate the mid-palate, but there are lots of citrus and spice components that remain towards the end of the wine. Extremely complex and layered and with a balanced oak profile, this beautiful Chardonnay finishes long, with the perfect amount of sweetness and lingering acidity. Enjoy now or in the next 20 years. Decanting is recommended.
Winemaking
Whole cluster pressed and barrel fermented. Full malolactic fermentation. Aged in new French oak for 22 months. Unfined.
Vineyard
Gård Vintners wines are 100% estate grown sustainably at Lawrence Vineyards, featuring 14 distinct vineyard sites. With elevations that range 870 feet to 1,675 feet and primarily south-facing slopes, Lawrence Vineyards provide a great framework for grape production, while the diversity of each of the locations delivers a high level of complexity to Gård wines. Lawrence Vineyards is certified sustainable.
Specs
Vintage: 2021
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: Royal Slope, Washington
Release Date: Fall 2024
Alcohol: 14.6%
Production: 238 cases
Winemaker: Matías Kúsulas
2022 Gård Grand Klasse Chardonnay, Royal Slope
96 pts - Jeremy Young, Int’l Wine Report
Tasting Notes
FRUIT: Peach, papaya, lemon
EARTH: Oak spice, marshmallow, asphalt
FLAVORS: Citrus, baking spices, yellow stone fruits
PERSONALITY: Fresh, mineral, precise
CELLAR: Enjoy now or in the next 10 years
Winemaking
Barrel fermented and aged in new and neutral French oak for 16 months
Vineyard
Gård Vintners wines are 100% estate grown sustainably at Lawrence Vineyards, featuring 14 distinct vineyard sites. With elevations that range 870 feet to 1,675 feet and primarily south-facing slopes, Lawrence Vineyards provide a great framework for grape production, while the diversity of each of the locations delivers a high level of complexity to Gård wines. Lawrence Vineyards is certified sustainable.
Specs
Vintage: 2022
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Appellation: Royal Slope, Washington
Release Date: October 2025
Alcohol: 13.8%
Production: 262 cases
Winemaker: Matías Kúsulas
What’s Included
6-bottles:
3x - 2021 Gård Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay, Royal Slope
3x - 2022 Gård Grand Klasse Chardonnay, Royal Slope
Case:
6x - 2021 Gård Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay, Royal Slope
6x - 2022 Gård Grand Klasse Chardonnay, Royal Slope
Gård, meaning “farm” in many of the Scandinavian languages, is a tribute to our family’s Scandinavian heritage and farming tradition.
Our mission at Gård is to capture and bottle the unique characteristics of the land we farm. We humbly craft value-driven, award-winning wines from our sustainable estate vineyards to create lasting memories for our customers. Gård Vintners is dedicated to crafting world-class wines from its sustainably farmed estate vineyard on the Royal Slope of Washington’s Columbia Valley AVA. We produce 6,000 cases a year for our wine club, three tasting rooms and select distribution in the northwest and across the country.
Founded in 2006, Gård Vintners is a family-owned and operated estate winery in the heart of Washington’s Columbia Valley AVA, with vineyards on the Royal Slope, wine production in Walla Walla, and tasting rooms in Woodinville, Walla Walla, and Ellensburg.
The winery was founded by Josh and Lisa Lawrence, along with Josh’s dad John Lawrence and uncle Sandy Lawrence, who had farmed the Royal Slope for more than 40 years. The winery and estate vineyard is now owned and operated by Josh and his wife, Lisa, who oversees sales and marketing, while Josh oversees the vineyard and other farm and orchard operations.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI
Tonight I got the call to kneel before the Royal Slope AVA and sample, not one, but two Chardonnay princes from Gard Estate Wines: 2021 Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay and 2022 Grand Klasse Chardonnay. Both have the big Gard seal on the bottle jacket, but one in white and the other in black.Tasted side by side, they provide an interesting contrast of two vintages and styles from predominantly the same estate vineyards.
Let’s go ahead now, with the 2021 Winemaker’s Select that’s clear like a glass that’s carrying yellow diamonds. It was a bit tight with medium intensity aromas of oak and mineral, followed shyly by me flowers and tropical fruit.
The Grand Klasse, I’d like to tell you may be, more straw colored in the glass with stronger aromas of fruit leading with bartlett pear, white peaches, apricot and just a hint of oak.
Initial taste profiles are quite different, with the 2021 Winemaker’s Select showing bright acidity and immediate structural intensity. On the palate, citrus and tree fruit strongly influenced by oak. The Select finishes crisply and cleanly. By contrast, the Grand Klasse says it ain’t got no family tree, as its medium entry is broad and fruit forward echoing the stone fruit from the aromatics, and the finish is longer with a dose of bright acidity at the tail.
Both princes adore you, food. It’s 92 today in Sonoma so a light dinner of pasta alla Nerano and salad worked great. Both wines balanced the cheesy basil-laced pasta in a way that’s got into my head now. The Grand Klasse with it broad and full palate and the Select with its structure and acidity.
Gard is well known at Casemates for their quality wines, and they know what a prince ought to be. As a mixed offer, I could talk for hours, but this one could please both styles of Chard drinkers. Oaky, mineral, structured Select and lightly oaked, fruit rich Grand Klasse. Cheers!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations)
Gård Chardonnay Duo - $30 = 15.00%
Gård Chardonnay Duo
2021 Gård Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay, Royal Slope
Tasting Notes
Winemaking
Vineyard
Specs
2022 Gård Grand Klasse Chardonnay, Royal Slope
Tasting Notes
Winemaking
Vineyard
Specs
What’s Included
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$612/Case at Gard Vintners
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Oct 19 - Tuesday, Oct 20
Gård Chardonnay Duo
6 bottles for $99.99 $16.67/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2021 Gård Chardonnay
2022 Gård Grand Klasse Chardonnay
Any chance we’ll ever see some mead again?
FYI Meh has a Pinot Noir for sale today.
@TimW
12-Pack: 2022 Old Mountain Napa Valley Pinot Noir for $79.99
Tonight I got the call to kneel before the Royal Slope AVA and sample, not one, but two Chardonnay princes from Gard Estate Wines: 2021 Winemaker’s Select Chardonnay and 2022 Grand Klasse Chardonnay. Both have the big Gard seal on the bottle jacket, but one in white and the other in black.Tasted side by side, they provide an interesting contrast of two vintages and styles from predominantly the same estate vineyards.
Let’s go ahead now, with the 2021 Winemaker’s Select that’s clear like a glass that’s carrying yellow diamonds. It was a bit tight with medium intensity aromas of oak and mineral, followed shyly by me flowers and tropical fruit.
The Grand Klasse, I’d like to tell you may be, more straw colored in the glass with stronger aromas of fruit leading with bartlett pear, white peaches, apricot and just a hint of oak.
Initial taste profiles are quite different, with the 2021 Winemaker’s Select showing bright acidity and immediate structural intensity. On the palate, citrus and tree fruit strongly influenced by oak. The Select finishes crisply and cleanly. By contrast, the Grand Klasse says it ain’t got no family tree, as its medium entry is broad and fruit forward echoing the stone fruit from the aromatics, and the finish is longer with a dose of bright acidity at the tail.
Both princes adore you, food. It’s 92 today in Sonoma so a light dinner of pasta alla Nerano and salad worked great. Both wines balanced the cheesy basil-laced pasta in a way that’s got into my head now. The Grand Klasse with it broad and full palate and the Select with its structure and acidity.
Gard is well known at Casemates for their quality wines, and they know what a prince ought to be. As a mixed offer, I could talk for hours, but this one could please both styles of Chard drinkers. Oaky, mineral, structured Select and lightly oaked, fruit rich Grand Klasse. Cheers!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations)
Gård Chardonnay Duo - $30 = 15.00%