Pezzi King Chardonnay 2014
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Pairs wonderfully with salmon cakes topped with lemon aioli, or chicken roasted with fresh garden herbs and creamy, mushroom risotto on the side.
Ken Wilson commented that, ""I've always admired Jim Row and the Pezzi King wines, especially the estate Zinfandels. Pezzi King changed the way we looked at Zinfandel and turned the local winemaking world upside down with its 1995 Zin. Its rich, jammy, and fruit-forward style became the new standard of excellence in Zins.""
No where in America are conditions better suited to producing world-class Zinfandels than Pezzi King's home: Dry Creek Valley."
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.