For wine and horse lovers a visit to the Tamber Bey Winery is like nothing else in Napa Valley. The estate is in Calistoga, half a mile from the landmark winery of Chateau Montelena (which 1973’s Chardonnay won the famous Judgement of Paris). The 22-acre equestrian facility is dedicated to training top performance horses and it is regarded as one of the finest in the country. The name Tamber Bey reflects the names of owner Barry Waitte’s first two Arabian endurance horses, Tamborina (Tamber) and Bayamo (Bey). However, if you are a wine lover then you probably know that Tamber Bey wines are the joint venture of consultant winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown and Frederic Delivert.

Brown is regarded as one of the nation’s hottest winemakers. His expertise about winegrowing gained him the 2010 Winemaker of the Year award by the Food & Wine magazine. Originally from South Carolina, Brown made his way to Napa in the mid-1990's, where he worked for famed winemakers Ehren Jordan and Larry Turley of Turley Wine Cellars. Fast forward two decades and his resume is mind-blowing. Since 2000, Thomas Rivers Brown has made 37 individual bottlings for crème de la crème clients like Schrader Cellars, Outpost, Maybach, Revana, Jones Family, Harris Estate, Hestan, Seaver, and more. Over half of them (20) have scored ratings of 95 points or higher. In October 2008, Brown made history as the youngest winemaker to score not just one, but two perfect "100 point" ratings from Robert M. Parker.

At Tamber Bey, Thomas Rivers Brown is assisted by Frederic Delivert who also has an extraordinary resume under his belt. After getting his degree in winemaking at L’Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture in Toulouse, he has worked at houses like Far Niente, Duckhorn, Hafner, Plumpjack and Cade, and most recently Martin Estate and Clark-Claudon.

The 2016 Tamber Bey Unoaked Chardonnay, which is the 2nd vintage this wine is produced. The wine is sourced from the Trio Vineyard that sits below the Western Yountville Bench, 2 miles south of the town of Yountville. Trio Vineyards’ rich, dark soils and warmer mid-valley climate are perfect for growing Dijon clone Chardonnay. Tamber Bey sources the fruit from this vineyard for this stainless-steel aged Dijon Chardonnay.

Tasting notes:

Fermented and aged entirely in Stainless Steel, this new wine brings out and incredible bright and fresh sensation of the fruit. This luscious Dijon clone Chardonnay is aged in 100% stainless steel, hence the term “unoaked.” The fermentation in stainless steel preserves all the intensity of the fruit in this wine. The primary aromas are dominated by banana and pear, and then evolve into apple and white flower notes. This is a very fresh and bright wine. In addition to its classic fruitiness, there is a mineral layer (crushed quartz stones) and a little bit of yeastiness that adds complexity. The finish is long, with apple and white peach notes.

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