Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Caramelized apple and honey remain subtle enough to keep this wine balanced and restrained, a graceful representation of the true Sonoma Coast. From an estate vineyard, the wine shines in acidity with a mineral touch, offering a medium body with layers of crisp texture and a lingering, ripe pear-like finish.
-
Wine Spectator
A citrusy style, with spicy green apple, pear and melon notes amid the ripe fig and honeysuckle details. Gains richness and depth, and should benefit from some cellar time. Long and persistent on the finish. Drink now.
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.
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.