Winemaker Notes
This wine was fermented in French oak barrels and then aged in barrel for 11 months, where the wine completed malolactic fermentation. The 2016 Jos. Belli Chardonnay is completely accessible now, but if stored properly, it will continue to develop for at least the next handful of years.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Chardonnay Jos. Belli Vineyards is beautiful. Exotic flowers, lychee, white peach, and a hint of honeysuckle give way to a medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant and silky Chardonnay that has good acidity as well as texture. Aged 11 months in new and neutral barrels, drink it over the coming 4-5 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Jos. Belli Vineyards is a little closed on the nose, offering pretty grapefruit, lime blossom and Bosc pear scents with nuances of allspice, baking bread and toasted almonds. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with citrus and pear layers, framed by great freshness and finishing long and savory.
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.