Winemaker Notes
H. Klopp is hidden right in the midst of the lower Sebastopol Hills, just south of downtown. Sitting atop the ubiquitous Goldridge Series loam that Sonoma Coast is famous for, this vineyard is planted to four clones of Chardonnay: Robert Young, Old Wente, Mt. Eden and UCD4. Year in and year out, the wines from H. Klopp have done nothing but impress.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Pouring a medium straw color, the 2022 Chardonnay H. Klopp Vineyard is ripe with notes of honeyed citrus, lemon curd, green apple, and perhaps white peach. The palate is full-bodied, but it has bright acidity, with a mouthwatering salinity, and retains a more linear focus and tension. It’s mouthwatering, long, and well-detailed.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay H. Klopp Vineyard unfurls slowly in the glass to reveal baked peaches, jasmine, bread dough, allspice and flint aromas. The light-bodied palate pairs concentrated, floral flavors with a luxuriously silky texture. It’s balanced by vibrant acidity and has a very long, gently honeyed finish.
-
James Suckling
A distinctive apple-skin and cider accent in the aromas and flavors sets this wine apart. It's a hint of oxidation that makes it taste natural and grounded. Medium-bodied, tangy with acidity, lightly oaked and appetizing.
-
Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay H. Klopp Vineyard is soft and open-knit. Lemon confit, tangerine peel, chamomile and mint are all layered in the glass. The 2022 is creamy and expressive in the understated style that is such a signature of Ross Cobb's wines.
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.