Winemaker Notes
The cool climate and the typical Goldridge soil give this wine its character. Soft rolling hills, protected from direct sunlight, allow for slow ripening. This Chardonnay, meticulously farmed on a great site has it all: good structure, nice fruit profile, great balance and layers.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From a vineyard near the tiny town of Graton, this wine offers intense acidity nipping at strong layers of lemon and wet stone. The balanced palate offers weight, with a spicy finish that shows potential for aging.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From a vineyard in the Russian River Valley, the 2016 Chardonnay Laceroni Vineyard was whole cluster pressed and spent 15 months in 45% new French oak barrels before bottling. Its medium gold color gives way to a brilliant bouquet of crushed lemons, green almonds, and white flowers. It's nicely balanced, has beautiful purity, nicely integrated acidity, and a clean finish. It drops off slightly on the finish, but this is an impressive, pure, vibrant Chardonnay.
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James Suckling
Some attractive, fresh pear, melon and quince aromas here with some quite savory and mealy flavors on the palate. There’s a composed, mellow and quite richly textural feel to the dry finish. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Laceroni Vineyard opens with creamy notions of yogurt and nutty/honeyed notes over ripe yellow fruits and white flower hints. Medium-bodied and creamy, it's more citrusy in the mouth, finishing with lingering citrus-cream flavors.
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.