Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
There is a sense of momentum with the Joyce Chardonnay; the 2023 repeats the elegance of its past vintage but brings an even more impressive energy, thanks to a cold, late-ripening season that kept the fruit on the vine until the end of October. Grown in the region's iconic, powdery Goldridge soils with direct coastal influence, and surrounded by redwoods and wild pennyroyal, the wine’s environment clearly shows in its aromatics. A distinct saltiness hits the nose first, followed by richer notes of wildflower honey, crisp apples, and Meyer lemons that also run through the palate. This balance is a result of winemaking decisions that start with a hard press of the clusters to incorporate more solids, a move that builds a deep, physical structure and manages pH enough to hold up the acidity levels of this marginal site. The wine then spends 20 months in puncheons (one-third new French oak) before moving to stainless steel for six weeks to settle before bottling. This is a wine that has weight and texture but doesn't feel heavy, finishing with a persistent saline snap, a clean lift, and a cooling herbal edge. Truly delicious.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.