Chasseur Graton's Choice Chardonnay 2011
-
Wilfred
Wong
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Chasseur is a pretty special producer and is making some impressive wines. Fashioned after the Burgundians, the wines have so much character and breed. Majority Partner and Winemaker William Hunter knows what he is doing. The '11 Graton's Choice Chardonnay is a powerful wine, with elements of sweet oak and ripe core fruits; lots going on here. A fine match with rotisserie chicken, yum! (Best Served: 2015-2018)
Other Vintages
2013-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
Our goal is to be among the pioneers to develop the potential of this area. Please explore our web site to learn more about how we make these wines from grape to glass. We offer all these wines, especially the smaller lots which may not make it to the retail shelf or the restaurant wine list through the winery.
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.