Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Chardonnay Mes Filles Vineyard demands plenty of air to open on the nose and is worth the wait: stone fruit pit and white orchard fruits are accented by alluring touches of chalk, pie crust, hazelnut and jasmine. The light-bodied palate offers concentrated, crunchy flavors delivered in a satiny texture. It’s balanced by electric acidity and has a long, dynamic finish. It will be long-lived in the cellar.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay Mes Filles Vineyard demands plenty of air to open on the nose and is worth the wait: stone fruit pit and white orchard fruits are accented by alluring touches of chalk, pie crust, hazelnut and jasmine. The light-bodied palate offers concentrated, crunchy flavors delivered in a satiny texture. It’s balanced by electric acidity and has a long, dynamic finish. It will be long lived in the cellar.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A bright silver/straw color, the 2022 Chardonnay Mes Filles Vineyard is a medium-bodied white with refreshing zesty acidity in its notes of lime leaf, lemon verbena, and green apples. More linear and focused on the palate, this is a refreshing wine from this warm vintage to drink.
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James Suckling
A racy, vivid, almost chewy white that's alive in mineral and citrus flavors. Lemon-peel, orange-blossom and chalk aromas are followed by nervy, stoney, apple-skin and kiwifruit flavors. Light-bodied, with great acidity that adds an light grippy feel.
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Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay Mes Filles Vineyard is terrific. Bright and vibrant, with tons of energy and dynamism, the Mes Filles sizzles with tension. I admire the wine's delineation and layered, expansive personality. Chalk, white pepper and sage linger.
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Wine Spectator
This opens with touches of Himalayan sea salt, lemon thyme and fresh grated ginger, leading to notes of grilled Meyer lemon, dried pear and pomelo. Lemon oil, fresh Honeycrisp apple and lime sherbet details come into focus on the fresh finish. Drink now. 120 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 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.