Winemaker Notes
This limited production Chardonnay shows pure flavors of lemon curd, melon, pineapple, and vanilla wafer. Silky smooth and streamlined with an impressive concentration and length.
Sip this delicous Chardonnay Barrel Select with a traditional salad of greens with a light vinaigrette like Belgian endive salad with blue cheese and walnuts.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Rooted in their European heritage, husband-and-wife winemaking team Céline and Sébastien LeSeurre—she from Languedoc, he from Champagne—have crafted a style that bridges precision and elegance. The 2023 Domaine LeSeurre Barrel Select Chardonnay opens with expressive aromas of zingy citrus, fresh herbs, dried mushrooms, and a hint of sandalwood. Its vibrant character makes it an ideal pairing for sushi and sashimi, notably leaner fish like fluke or snapper. (Tasted: July 13, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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.
As the most historic wine-producing region in New York state, winemaking in the Finger Lakes area dates back to the 1820s and today as a region, accounts for 90% of the state’s total wine production.
Its narrow and deep lakes created by the movement of Ice Age glaciers create an environment similar to the classic Riesling-loving regions of Europe, namely Germany and Austria. The Finger Lakes retain summer heat that incidentally warms up cold winter air, making it fall down from the lakes’ steep slopes. When spring comes, the lakes, already cooled by cold winter weather, stave off vine budding until the danger of frost has subsided. The main lakes of the zone, that is those big enough to moderate the climate in this way, are the focal points of prime vineyard areas. They include Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga.
While Riesling has fueled most of the region’s success, today Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc enjoy some attention.