Winemaker Notes
The Reserve Chardonnay opens with rich aromas of ripe golden apple, pear and a hint of citrus. On the palate the wine is complex and concentrated, blending ripe orchard fruit flavors with baking spices and melon. The long and balanced finish leaves notions of vanilla, sweet apple, and delicate hints of oak.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This full-bodied, robust wine offers golden apples, pineapples and a hint of butter on a big frame of acidity and firming oak influence. It feels tight and subdued, offers subtle oak spices and a hint of toast. Look for more complexity with time in the bottle.
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.