Winemaker Notes
The Amici Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is a classic example of a coastal chardonnay. Vibrant aromas of lemon peel and juicy ripe peach are accompanied by subtle crushed rock notes and a delicate wisp of sea spray. The palate offers flavors of key lime pie and roasted hazelnut, with crisp precise acidity framed by warm toasty oak.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
An enticing but well-balanced wine that combines a super-creamy texture with vivid tropical fruit, poached pears and baking spices. It's all barrel-fermented in about 30% oak and shows the characteristic toast, dough and light butter notes of an excellent chardonnay. Affordable for the quality. Drink now or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is a bright silver/yellow color and is zesty on the nose with notes of lime leaf, lemon verbena, green apple, and fresh flowers. Aged for nine months in 35% new French oak, it's medium-bodied, with a delicately rounded feel, a smooth, even texture, and a floral, delicate character with lilac notes on the finish.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.