Winemaker Notes
As a winemaker, some wines you craft just perfectly suit your own tastes. The 2011 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay is definitely in this group; its combination of focus and opulence, plush fruit and steely minerality are exactly what we strive for in this bottling. The cold, damp 2011 season perfectly suited Dutton Ranch's attentive farming, and the character of the old, dry farmed Chard vines. Their sparse canopy, low yield, and great health produced concentrated fruit in a year where many were less pleased. The wine shows the crystalline citrus fruit and freshness so quintessential to this neighborhood. In the nose, it leads with lemon curd, buttercream and a touch of tangerine—fantastic concentration and focus. The mouth is refreshing and luscious at the same time. Meyer lemon, a hint of toffee, and mandarin orange fill out the middle, while the creamy tropical overtones round out the edges. The finish combines fresh citrus, sweet buttercream, bright acidity and a cleansing minerality that leaves you wanting more. This really is the perfect pairing wine, suiting everything from light appetizers and sushi to pasta in cream sauce and pork. Or, nothing at all.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Rued Ranch consistently is the winery’s top bottling. The 2011, like its predecessors, is modest in alcohol but vast in citrus, tropical fruit, honeysuckle and mineral flavors, and enriched with smoky oak and buttery notes. It has a delicate mouthfeel that makes it a joy to savor.
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.