Raymond Reserve Selection Chardonnay 2017
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The Reserve Selection Napa Valley Chardonnay opens with delightfully fragrant aromas of pear and guava fruit that are accentuated by aromatic notes of apple, honeysuckle, and a touch of toasted oak. This beautifully balanced wine coats the palate with flavors of melon, lemon, and ripe pear before culminating in a long, enjoyable finish.
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Wine & Spirits
With its scents of orange blossoms and gardenias, this smells like a flower garden in June, earthy and floral underneath, layered with creamy vanilla notes and some relieving bitterness of oak tannins. It feels spicy and cool, built for a lemony roast chicken. Best Buy
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Wine Enthusiast
Made in a robust, richly layered style, this white speaks to thick flavors of lemon-cream pie, apple and pear. Sleek, soft and hearty in oak, it has finishing touches of vanilla, nutmeg and anise that linger and reside gingerly on the palate.
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Raymond Vineyards, founded in 1970, is one of the Napa Valley’s pioneers and great estates. Arriving to Napa in 1933, the Raymond family became deeply connected to the valley’s winemaking origins. In 1970, they established a 90-acre estate in Rutherford that now comprises 300 acres in Rutherford, St. Helena and Jameson Canyon. Five generations of the Raymond family created a Napa icon, with an enduring reputation for elegant wines with a beautiful balance of finesse, power and complexity. Today, inspired by the vision of Proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset, Raymond is a dynamic destination dedicated to inspiring its guests’ passion for fine wine in an environment of exploration, creativity, and elegant whimsicality, where each in a series of diverse experiences progresses visitors into another world of discovery and exceptional wines. Further, Raymond’s Rutherford and St. Helena estate vineyards are certified organic and Biodynamic, and 100% of the winery’s power comes from renewable solar energy.
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.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.