Decimus Napa Valley Chardonnay 2011: Yellow-green color; honeydew melon, vanilla nose;, honeydew, white peach, apricot, lemon custard, hint of caramel on the palate;
refinement and creamy smoothness dominates in the mouth, only barest hint of acidity and tannin; intensely approachable and delicious in an elegant, refined manner.
“Decimus” is Latin for “a tenth”—a tithe—and 10 percent off the top of every bottle sold goes to Living Water International, an organization that “exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and to experience ‘living water’—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.” Stephen and Allison Lewis of Houston are the owners of the company, Steve Reynolds is the lead winemaker, and a stated mission of the effort is to “turn wine into water” in the parts of the world in greatest need.
Stephen is successful in finance, Allison successful in television journalism, they share a love of wine and a commitment to something more than money and fame: “success in life comes as a result of working hard on something you love to do, but significance in life requires taking the success and changing the lives of others.” You do not have to buy into the Christian commitment to doing for “the least of thy brethren” to appreciate and enjoy this splendidly tasty chardonnay from Los Carneros Appellation of Napa, but for those of us who do, it makes the wine even more admirable. Do something good for yourself and the world’s most desperate, drink a Decimus today. Seldom is doing the right thing more painless and delicious. $37
Decimus website
Second photo: Stephen Lewis, Steve Reynolds
