Joseph Phelps Freestone Vineyards Chardonnay 2012
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Made from estate-grown fruit near the chilly Sonoma Coast town of Freestone, this is a fully layered wine, expertly balanced in acidity yet offering plenty of full-figured mouthfeel and viscous pleasure. It delivers an electrix mix of Meyer lemon, minerals and brioche, and will please a diverse range of palates.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Chardonnay Freestone Vineyards displays a light gold color with a green hue, and notes of orange rind, nectarine, tangerine and lemon blossom. Medium to full-bodied with terrific acidity, precision, purity and texture, it is a Burgundian-styled, classic cool-climate California Chardonnay. Drink now-2022
Other Vintages
2019-
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine
-
Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James -
Spectator
Wine -
Wong
Wilfred - Decanter
-
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Suckling
James -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb
-
Parker
Robert -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Suckling
James
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Wong
Wilfred -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spirits
Wine & -
Panel
Tasting -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert -
Spirits
Wine & -
Guide
Connoisseurs'
-
Enthusiast
Wine - Decanter
-
Spectator
Wine
-
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Panel
Tasting
-
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Spectator
Wine
-
Guide
Connoisseurs' -
Enthusiast
Wine -
Spectator
Wine -
Parker
Robert
-
Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a family-owned winery committed to crafting world class, estate-grown wines. Founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch near St. Helena in the Napa Valley, the winery now controls and farms nearly 375 acres of vines on eight estate vineyards in St. Helena, the Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, Carneros and South Napa Valley. In 1999, the Phelps family added 100 acres of vineyard property near the town of Freestone on the Sonoma Coast, where Phelps now grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Phelps is best known for its flagship Napa Valley blend of red Bordeaux varietals, Insignia, first produced in 1974. Awarded Wine Spectator's "Wine of the Year" in 2005, Insignia is widely regarded as a qualitative benchmark for California winemaking.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.