Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This has a ripe nose, but it’s very attractive with pineapple, cloves, dried apricots and vanilla beans. Full body, layers of stone and tropical fruit, pretty acidity and a textured finish. Drink now.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Dutton Goldfield Walker Hill Chardonnay is bright, with an accent of the Old World. TASTING NOTES: This wine is active and filled with zesty fruit. Its aromas and flavors of green apple, mineral accents, and savory spice should pair it well a herb-dressed, oven-baked capon. (Tasted: September 9, 2019, 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.
Situated on the foggier and colder western edge of the Russian River Valley, almost abutting the Sonoma Coast appellation, Green Valley is one of California’s most reputable Chardonnay and Pinot noir producing regions. It is also a wonderful source of sparkling wines made from these varieties.
Goldridge soils abound throughout the Green Valley appellation. This fine, dark, sandy loam and fractured sandstone is derived from the remains of ancient inland seabeds dating back three to five million years. It is valuable for high quality grape growing because of its excellent drainage and low fertility.