Winemaker Notes
This elegantly balanced, medium-bodied wine is 53% French oak barrel (16% new) and 47% stainless steel fermented and aged
sur-lie. The wine’s bouquet is complex with lemon blossom, baked pear, white floral and toasted marshmallow. Its flavors showcase bright, sweet, Meyer lemon and a long citrus finish with a touch of oak.
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
An out- standing, elegant white with scents of but- tercup and lemon drop followed by clean flavors of pineapple and mandarin orange that glisten on the palate. The slightly leesy mouthfeel opens to gliding notes of fresh linen and white flowers.
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.