Winemaker Notes
Soaring aromatic intensity blends white flowers, thyme, aniseed, ginger, and citrus fruits. The wine is wonderfully engaging with flavors akin to lime juice, white peach, hazelnut, and briny green olive. The palate is taut yet deep and resonant, with mineral acidity cutting through its natural richness and broad texture. It has great drive throughout and really fans out on the finish to leave a lingering echo of citrus oil and oyster shell intensity. Drink between 2025 and 2033.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So smooth, silky and lush yet fresh, balanced and lively, too. Lots of baked apples, lemon zest and creme brulee on the palate. Long, linear and expansive in the finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The appellation wine and calling card of the house, the 2023 Chardonnay Wester Reach is fresh on the nose, with notes of light flint, lime zest, bright flowers, white pepper, and green apples. It has a compact feel but with electric energy and a fantastic oily citrus texture on the finish. Rating: 93+
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay Wester Reach is blended from several vineyards including Flax, El Diablo and Heintz. Grapes were harvested September 14 to October 14, and the wine was matured for 11 months in 27% new French oak barrels, followed by four months in tank. It has enveloping aromas of peach, lemon peel, custard, toast and matchstick. The full-bodied palate is satiny and mouth-coating with concentrated flavors. It’s balanced by taut acidity and has a long, luxuriously creamy finish.
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Wester Reach is laced with hints of tangerine peel, crushed rocks, white pepper and mint. Bright acids lend tension and nuance throughout. This is a fine introduction to the range.
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Wine Spectator
Offers firm, generous notes of apple, pear and lemon up front, with accents of citrus zest and details of green tea, spices and toasted almond. Additional notes of apricot pastry, fennel seed and kumquat come in on the finish, with solid acidity and a lingering note of almond skin. Drink now. 4,600 cases made.
Respect for the land
DuMOL is a “vineyard up” winery with a fully integrated approach to winegrowing and winemaking. DuMOL planted its high-density estate vineyards and has farmed many of California’s most renowned vineyards for more than two decades.
Commitment to craft
DuMOL sticks to what works and is focused on the fundamentals, finding inspiration in master, visionary producers around the world as DuMOL continually hones its craft—never imitating, ever refining.
Connected on a personal level
This is a project that comes from who the DuMOL team is and what they love. A deep connection is paramount: to the land, the wines, and the customers.
Heritage and experience
Founded in 1996, DuMOL is a latter-day pioneer in the Russian River Valley. Winemaker, Viticulturist and Partner, Andy Smith, farmed the region for nearly a decade before joining in 1999, and Associate Winemakers Julie Cooper and Jenna Davis, and Cellar Master Jaime Eufracio, have over 40 years combined experience at DuMOL.
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.