Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Carneros Estate Chardonnay is pale gold in color, with aromas of lime, lemon, grapefruit, white peach, and dried flowers. The palate opens with crisp green apple and lemon, then turns richer with stone fruit, pineapple, and a slight hint of almond. The finish is linear and focused, with bright acidity and a hint of sea salt.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Soft, smooth and weighty, this wine offers complex structure and an expansive quality of rich stone fruit. Honey, caramel and flint combine to further complement and intrigue, with plenty of acidity buzzing beneath a rich, elegant frame.
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James Suckling
Ripe cooked apple and lemon with some sandalwood. Full-bodied, rather tense and framed, with a lightly toasted-oak and vanilla-cream aftertaste. Very drinkable now.
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Wine Spectator
Suave and well-knit, with savory richness to the apple pastry and ripe pear flavors, which are backed by rich acidity. Offers buttery accents on the juicy finish.
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.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.