Winemaker Notes
The 2017 vintage has beautiful aromas of toasted sesame, marzipan, meyer lemon and baked apple. On the palate the wine opens with toasty brioche, hazelnut and baking spices, with a lush finish that is balanced with acidity and a rich creaminess.
Enjoy this Chardonnay with creamy cheeses, vegetable ravioli or grilled veal chops and mushrooms.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Beautifully done, the 2017 Chardonnay River West Vineyard has a light gold hue to go with a crisp, racy, yet also intense bouquet of crushed citrus, crushed stone-like minerality, sappy earth, and floral nuances. Made in a tight, reductive, mineral-laced style, it brings plenty of intensity on the mid-palate and has a beautiful finish, all making for a stunning Russian River Valley Chardonnay that’s going to have a good decade of longevity.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Davis Bynum Chardonnay brings the richness and persistence of the Russian River Valley front and center. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows ripe apple and earth in its aromas and flavors. Pair it with pan-fried halibut in savory spices and a butter sauce. (Tasted: May 27, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
Made in a thick, full-bodied style with wide appeal, this vineyard-designate wine opens with a green olive tone and focused acidity. The midpalate delivers more richness, effusive in toasted oak, vanilla and crème brûlée
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.