Winemaker Notes
Delicate aromas of fresh lychee, orange blossom and juicy white peach, layered with shavings of limestone, white plum, and young buds of chrysanthemum flower. Rich notes of ripe Asian pear and honeysuckle, with subtle touches of white mulberry and chamomile tea. A luxurious texture and round mouthfeel balanced by lively minerality, and an intensely elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Elegant, well-balanced and silky in texture, this graceful wine eases baked apples, vanilla and macadamia nut across the palate, buoyed by light acidity, leading to a lingering finish. Fermented and aged in a combo of new and used concrete eggs, amphora and French oak.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is a golden hue, with ripe aromas of fresh pear, toasted spices, and wet asphalt. This full-bodied white is lush with pure butterscotch, ripe apple, and honeyed citrus, and it’s long on the palate, with freshness as well as richness. Drink 2023-2030.
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Wine Spectator
Shows salted butterscotch, peach pastry, tangerine, mango and candied lemon zest flavors that are vibrant and fleshy, with cardamom, nutmeg and dried herbal notes on a juicy, supple frame. Drink now. 760 cases made.
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.