Winemaker Notes
The 24th vintage of Chloe and a wine led by forward fruit richness rather than coastal structure. The character of the fruit is more reminiscent of ripe apricot and peach than leaner citrus, and the wine’s texture is broad, generous, and mouth-filling. You might open and enjoy this before their acid-driven coastal Chardonnays. The vineyard blend combines the orange marmalade fruit richness of Flora Marie Vineyard in the warmer central Russian River hills with vines from the top of their Bressay Estate that give deep oily texture and waxy honeyed fruit richness. The wine can be opened and enjoyed on release but will age positively in bottle for seven years. This is one of the great recent vintages for Chloe.
The wine’s aromas and flavors are reminiscent of white flowers, tangerine, white peach, and an edge of rising ocean spray. The palate is full bodied and generous, with deep fruit richness and enveloping texture. Apricot, lemon curd, and beeswax notes take hold. In classic DuMOL style, the wine finishes long and vibrant with an echo of nutmeg and anise. Drink between 2025 and 2032.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Chloe is a blend of fruit from Flora Marie and Bressay. It presents a distinctly tropical fruit profile to match its textured, opulent personality. There's plenty of brightness and acid to play off its more overt qualities. Readers who like richer wines (within this context) will find much to admire. Peach, apricot, chamomile and lightly honeyed notes extend the finish.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Chardonnay Chloe is from the Flora Marrie Vineyard on Eastside Road, on volcanic red clay, gravelly soils on a plateau bench, and the rest is from behind the vineyard house on clay and sand. One of the richer wines in the range, it’s ripe but also savory on the nose, with golden peach, toasted incense, hints of toasted spice, and savory underpinnings. The palate is full and has some added depth of structure, with elegant length. Drink 2025-2035.
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James Suckling
This shows nicely the richness and pure fruit flavors of the Russian River Valley, yet it’s balanced by good, vibrant acidity. So plush and mouth-filling, broad and rather ripe, offering golden apples, baked pears and tempting pastry shop spices.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay Chloe comes from the Dumol Bressay Estate and Flora Marie vineyards. Grapes were harvested September 11, 13 and 30, and the wine was matured for 11 months in 26% new French Damy barrels, followed by six months in tank. Initial wafts of candle smoke, flint and crème brûlée give way to green melon, panna cotta and spring honey aromas. The full-bodied palate is bursting with fragrant flavors, and its new oak is seamlessly integrated. Silky in texture, its generosity is foiled by bright acidity, and it has a long, layered finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This bright and intense Chard delivers waves of zesty Meyer lemon, white flowers and nectarine on the nose, followed by a beautifully textured palate with flavors of Ranier cherry, pineapple sage, pithy lemon-lime and flowers. Drink this with halibut en croute, or Dungeness crab.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh pineapple, pear and apricot flavors are supple and aromatic, with a vibrant thread of acidity. Orange blossom, kumquat and tangerine notes sing on the finish, where details of candied ginger and burnt sugar linger.
Respect for the land
DuMOL is a “vineyard up” winery with a fully integrated approach to winegrowing and winemaking. DuMOL planted its high-density estate vineyards and has farmed many of California’s most renowned vineyards for more than two decades.
Commitment to craft
DuMOL sticks to what works and is focused on the fundamentals, finding inspiration in master, visionary producers around the world as DuMOL continually hones its craft—never imitating, ever refining.
Connected on a personal level
This is a project that comes from who the DuMOL team is and what they love. A deep connection is paramount: to the land, the wines, and the customers.
Heritage and experience
Founded in 1996, DuMOL is a latter-day pioneer in the Russian River Valley. Winemaker, Viticulturist and Partner, Andy Smith, farmed the region for nearly a decade before joining in 1999, and Associate Winemakers Julie Cooper and Jenna Davis, and Cellar Master Jaime Eufracio, have over 40 years combined experience at DuMOL.
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.