Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Estate Chardonnay has aromas of tangerine peel and grilled peaches with hints of lime. The palate has crisp, focused acidity with flavors of Meyer lemon and Golden Delicious apples. This wine has incredible depth, energy and balance, which is enhanced by a long and refreshing finish.
Pairs beautifully with grilled cod, whole lobster with butter, roasted lemon chicken, pasta with béchamel sauce, asparagus risotto, and various goat cheeses.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Spectator
Generous notes of grilled peach, dried pineapple and lemon cream are backed by firm acidity. Shows details of salted Marcona almond, tarragon and lemon verbena on a frame that’s smooth and juicy.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The producer's largest offering at a still-small 750 cases, the 2022 Chardonnay Estate is a blend of three estate vineyards: Navarro-Fairhills, Walraven, and Dach, each vineyard-designates of their own. Together they offer a well-made, creamy entry balanced by citrus-driven freshness in a light-bodied package of lengthy acidity. Meyer lemon and lime are the stars of the show.
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.
Surrounded by redwood forests and often blanketed in chilly, ocean fog, the Anderson Valley is one of California’s most picturesque appellations. During the growing season, moist, cool, late afternoon air flows in from the Pacific Ocean along the Navarro River and over the valley's golden, oak-studded hills. High and low temperatures can vary as much as 40 or 50 degrees within a single day, allowing for slow and gentle ripening of grapes, which will in turn create elegantly balanced wines.
The Anderson Valley is best known for Pinot Noir made in a range of styles from delicate and floral to powerful and concentrated. Chardonnay also shines here, and both varieties are often utilized for the production of some of California’s best traditional method sparkling wines. The region also draws inspiration from Alsace and produces excellent Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.