Rochioli Little Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
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Robert
Parker
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This single vineyard wine is the result of over seventy-five years and three generations of winemaking and grape-growing experience in the Russian River Valley. Specially-selected barrels and traditional winemaking techniques give this Estate wine its unique style and flavor. Production is strictly limited, ensuring that this wine represents the very best we have to offer. It will continue to age gracefully for years to come.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the first release of a Chardonnay under this Little Hill label. The 2016 Chardonnay Little Hill reveals beautiful spice and floral notes of ginger, coriander seed, orange blossoms and honeysuckle with a core of guava, pineapple and apple pie plus a waft of brioche. Medium to full-bodied, the palate possesses great freshness with bags of tropical fruit flavors and a racy backbone delivering a long finish.
Other Vintages
2019-
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
The Rochioli family has been growing grapes on its 136-acre ranch since the 1930s. In 1987, Tom Rochioli created the first Rochioli Estate Pinot Noir which Wine Spectator named “The Best Pinot Noir in America.” The Rochioli Vineyard is situated in a very diverse part of the Russian River Valley promoting diversity in the soil types, proximity to the ocean, as well as the contours of the valley, allowing for morning fog and cool evening breezes.
With three generations of dedication to the land, Rochioli Vineyards & Winery has earned the reputation as one of Sonoma County’s finest wineries. The decades-long tradition of outstanding vintages continues today with wines that consistently receive rave reviews and 90+ scores. Always in demand, always revered and always rated among the best varietals sought after around the world.
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.