Winemaker Notes
What a nose! Yeast aromas of rising bread intermingle with hints of flint and lemon curd. There is real harmony and balance. The seductive, silky texture in the mid-palate stays fresh and retains the energy typically found in their Chardonnay. The wine is not heavy or ponderous but full of character. The finish is bright and clean and there is an aftertaste of lemon curd and mint that lingers for minutes. This is already a yummy wine to drink now yet has the structure and character to age well over the next 10-15 years, if desired.
Drink with fish, risotto, chicken, and on and on.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A broader appellation, Chardonnay from the West Sonoma Coast. 20% of this comes from Richardson Ranch, and the rest is estate fruit. Aromatics evoke saline seaspray, generous lemon curd, and hints of cardamom with a laser minerality. This wine is made with the two hectares picked and fermented separately—crystalline brilliance with notes of grilled lemon peel, tangerine, and perfectly paired oak spice.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Chardonnay West Sonoma Coast sports a bright yellow/straw hue and is expressive on opening with notes of pear, white flowers, orange blossom, and fresh hazelnut. Medium to full-bodied, it reveals a nice linear feel, but it has a lovely, high-quality carriage of citrus oils (lime) and a long, great, mouthwatering finish. Drink this over the next 10 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of fresh Gala apple, chalk and apple blossom swirl on the nose of this lively and beautifully balanced wine. The palate shows loads of energy and complexity, with flavors of fresh pineapple, lemon pith, ginger and white flowers coming in waves.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay West Sonoma Coast takes some time to unfurl scents of hazelnut and almond, bread dough, beeswax and apricot. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive, offering deeply concentrated, savory flavors balanced by a bright spine of acidity and a long, flavorful finish. It will benefit from another year or two in bottle or some time in a decanter.
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.