Winemaker Notes
The 2019 UV Vineyard Chardonnay is a gorgeous, intense, racy wine of great purity. The nose is layered with lemon curd, lemon zest, orange blossom, Asian pear, oyster shell, and raw almond. On the palate, the wine is ample, yet with great tension and drive, with acidity lifting flavors of lemon curd, hazelnut, fresh pear, and pastry flour with just a hint of fresh sage.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
he 2019 Chardonnay UV Vineyard is beautiful, just a clean, pure, impeccably balanced white that does everything right. Notes of white currants, stone fruits, chalky minerality, and white flowers all define the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish. It shows a more open, supple style compared to previous vintages yet should still have 4-6 years of prime drinking if stored correctly.
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.