Winemaker Notes
The Amici Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay is a complex and intense wine that showcases the best of the Chardonnay grape. Aromas of lime zest, chalk, and honey excite the nose. On the palate, the wine’s racing acidity is balanced by a creamy mouthfeel with hints of cinnamon stick and crème brûlée. Juicy pear flavors add depth and balance to the wine’s intensity, creating a full-bodied Chardonnay with beautiful acidity that lingers throughout the finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So concentrated, elegant, layered and complex. A full-bodied, well-balanced wine from the extreme Sonoma Coast in sight of the Pacific Ocean. On the palate toasted almonds, Bosc pears, brown butter and a touch of vanilla bean. Long and lingering in the finish. Drink or hold.
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Charles Heintz is another terrific wine in this range from Amici. Tangerine peel, almond, mint and honeyed notes all build in the glass. Soft contours wrap it all together in style. Lifted floral overtones give the 2023 its distinctive, airy feel.
Over thirty years in the making, Amici Cellars is a blend of the old and the new. Preserving its legacy and producing wines of exceptional character is the unwavering commitment of proprietors John Harris and Bob Shepard, who attribute success in large part to the age-old adage “nothing replaces hard work,” but also their intuition and ability to capture the most significant opportunity in a decisive moment.
The turning point was 2009, when after more than 15 years of making wine as a passion project with modest distribution, the two friends fully committed to taking their adventure and turning it into a prestigious Napa Valley winemaking estate. The United States was facing the biggest economic downturn since the 1930s, costly Cabernets no longer flying off shelves, but John and Bob have always trusted in their intuition and a core belief - bottle beautiful, high quality wines that are accessible to enjoy every day and for age-worthy collections.
They have decidedly chosen a talented team, seasoned winemaker Tony Biagi, a Napa Valley veteran with more than 25-years-experience, and associate winemaker Dante West, a rising star whose energy matches his true-to-varietal wines. Together they bring decades of relationships with outstanding growers in the field that, combined with their craftsmanship, creates the best possible capsule of each vineyard site, a combination of the soil, climate and people who farm it.
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.