Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Brought up in 35% new French oak, the 2017 Chardonnay Reserve offers a more rich, buttery style that carries plenty of apple-like fruits, white currants, and honeyed citrus aromas and flavors. It's nicely textured, has bright acidity, and a clean finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Barrel fermented, this robust white tastes of freshly cut pear, brioche and toasted oak, with a side note of baked apple. With a steely finish, it exudes richness through the midpalate, with hints of nutmeg and vanilla.
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.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.