Winemaker Notes
Maybe the most Burgundian Chardonnay in their portfolio, this seductive Chardonnay displays explosive aromas of Kaffir lime, citrus blossom with underlying mineral notes. On the palate, the wine displays tension between bright acidity and a cool-climate structure framed with flavors of ripe peach and lemon custard. This wine is delightfully elegant upon release but will continue to gain complexity with bottle age for 3 to 5 years.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the 2020 Chardonnay Three Sisters, lifted savory aromas of flinty wet stone, with ripe melon, fresh peach, and briny sea spray are followed by a full-bodied white with a mouth-coating texture, with notes of poached pear, honeydew melon, and baking spices.
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.
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.