Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay showcases the appellation and the vision for this wine beautifully, giving the classic mix of lively fruit, nutty spice, creamy richness and mouthwatering freshness. The nose leads with round yet focused aromas of pear, lemon oil, brioche, and roasted chestnuts. Delicate lily of the valley floral hints weave their way through, adding a pretty touch. The mouth is full of rich decadence while retaining its core of bright acidity, like a key lime crème brulee. Flavors of green apple, mango, apricot, and Eureka lemon are accented by toasted hazelnuts and toffee.
This interplay of brightness and richness make it an excellent match with a broad range of foods, from butternut squash ravioli with fried sage, to veal piccata, to scallops in a cream sauce, although it’s equally at home with a humble wedge of tangy Parmesan cheese.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From a deft practitioner of the variety, this delivers bold balanced flavors of Meyer lemon, apricot and pear but remains most memorable for its salty gritty undertone of texture and minerality. Bright and supple, it's a delicious wine.
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Wine Spectator
Tilts toward the tart side, with a potent lemon-citrus character amid green apple and green pear flavors. Mouthwatering throughout. Drink now through 2022.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the mainstays of the Dutton-Goldfield production. Using fruit from carefully chosen vineyards, Dan Goldfield produces wine that reflects the natural tendencies of the area: crisp, well-structured wines that display the complexity, balance and intensity that the partners believe are key to world-class wines.
Dutton-Goldfield Winery's first releases were a Dutton Ranch Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the 1998 vintage. Today Dan and Steve continue to produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Dutton Ranch plantings, numerous vineyard-designated wines, as well as small lots of old vine Zinfandel and hillside Syrah. The Dutton-Goldfield wines are crafted using traditional techniques such as barrel and malolactic fermentation for the Chardonnay, and open top fermentation for the Pinot Noir.
The winery is a partnership of friends, colleagues, neighbors and families. The wines reflect this spectacular part of Northern California where the grapes are grown, the superb quality of fruit from perfectly placed and planted vineyards, and the work of an appreciative winemaker.
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.