The Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 is a wine I found at Trader Joe’s for $12.99, which may be slightly higher than other wine sellers. Harken is a brand from O’Neill Wines.
The Story
The main point of interest for the Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 is the barrel fermentation. Both the initial fermentation and the aging occur in special oak barrels.
The oak barrels have both French and American oak staves in each barrel. The winemaker says the oak influence imparted into the Chardonnay is different from if they used separate French and American oak and then blended the two.
The Chardonnay was aged for 8 months (in barrel) and was stirred (battonage) every 2 weeks. Stirring the lees gives the wine a nutty, salty character and also gives it a creamy texture.
We reviewed the 2015 Harken, which was mainly sourced from Monterey. The 2024 vintage uses 72% grapes from the Clarksburg AVA and 10.5% from Monterey, with the rest coming from various AVAs. Since 75% of the grapes do not come from a single AVA, the label states ‘California’ as the origin.
Harken is a certified B Corporation, sustainably produced, and vegan-friendly.
The alcohol content is 14.2%.
The Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 Tasting Notes
The color is a pale wheat yellow with a golden glow. The nose is vanilla, lemon, citrus, Green apple, butterscotch, light spice, and a floral edge. The Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 is a medium-bodied Chardonnay with bold, but balanced flavor.
The Chardonnay tastes like peach, pear, lemon, and orange-blossom honey, followed by apple, spice, stone fruit, custard, and tropical fruit. This Chardonnay is NOT flavor challenged.
The acidity is well-controlled; it is actually rare to find a value-priced wine that does not do a decent job on the acidity.
The Summary
- The Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2024 is a wonderful sipping wine.
- Full, balanced flavor and well-made, the special barrel fermentation and aging make this a singular wine.
