West London Wine School: Cakebread Chardonnay Vertical 2004-2014

We have managed to secure a very special and rare parcel of Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay spanning two decades from 2004 to 2014. All the wines range from £35 to £55 and a few of the vintages are now almost impossible to source. It is a fantastic tasting to experience how Chardonnay from a leading producer can mature and develop with up to a decade of bottle maturation. We'll also dive into the uniqueness of the Napa Valley and why it can craft such excellent Chardonnay. The evening is led by Napa Valley Educator and wine school owner Jimmy Smith.

Jack Cakebread visited friends in California’s Napa Valley in the early '70s and loved it so much, he returned the next day to buy their land, founding Cakebread Cellars shortly after. Initially a small, family-run business based in Rutherford, Cakebread has flourished and its wines are now distributed worldwide. Cakebread’s commitment to wine quality has seen it invest in twelve additional estates in the Napa Valley and most recently in the Anderson Valley, giving unrivalled access to some of the finest fruit from prime sites across the area – a winemaker’s dream. From fog-cooled Carneros to the intense heat of Calistoga via Howell Mountain and the Rutherford Bench, Bruce Cakebread, President of Cakebread Cellars, and winemaker, Julianne Laks, make full use of this extraordinary diversity, blending grapes from different sources, microclimates and soils to bring complexity to their wines.

Wines on Tasting:

Cakebread Cellars 2004 Chardonnay Cakebread Cellars 2005 Chardonnay Cakebread Cellars 2006 Chardonnay Cakebread Cellars 2009 Chardonnay Cakebread Cellars 2011 Chardonnay Cakebread Cellars 2012 Chardonnay Cakebread Cellars 2014 Chardonna