Cattleya Wines Call to Adventure Chardonnay 2018
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Dunnuck
Jeb -
Enthusiast
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Suckling
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Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Powerful aromatics of red apple, lemon curd, and Bosc pear combine with citrus blossom and mineral undertones to entice the senses. Richness and seamless texture envelop the palate as you heed the Call to Adventure.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
All from clone 15, the 2018 Chardonnay Call To Adventure comes entirely from the Pratt Vineyard in the Russian River and spent 15 months in 50% new French oak. Offering plenty of Russian River richness in its buttered citrus, peach, and stone fruits, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate and has a kiss of background oak, wonderful balance, and a great finish. Showing more spice and brioche notes with time in the glass, give bottles a year or two and enjoy over the following 5-7 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Tight and chalky aromas of grapefruit pith, nectarine and ripe pear show on the uplifting nose of this bottling by Bibiana González Rave. There is a strong grip on the sip, where the chalky texture reflects a chalky flavor alongside warmer hints of melon and Meyer lemon.
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James Suckling
Nice aromas of cooked apples and pears with some cream and minerals that follow through to a medium body with attractive freshness. Nice minerality as well.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Call to Adventure has a nose of white peaches, quince paste, salted almonds and honeysuckle with notes of beeswax. The medium-bodied palate has a rounded texture and nutty fruits with seamless freshness and a long finish.
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Wine
In her words: Since my early teenage years, my dream has been to make wine.
At a very young age I was fortunate enough to begin learning how to make wine in France. I trained myself while working with some amazing winemakers who showed me the importance of loving the land, how to respect the farming itself, and to focus on the many details that go into making each drop of wine in each and every bottle.
While studying in Bordeaux and Cognac I learned the required viticulture, enology and microbiology (“wine science”); but most importantly, I was also exposed to the many rituals involved in winemaking–things like pruning, harvesting and bottling–that feel so special and meaningful each season. I told myself that one day a bottle of wine would be infused with the longings of my soul through fruit produced from a specific terroir that spoke to my heart. That place I have found.
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 standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.