Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Dunc Haynes planted this vineyard in 1966, the chardonnay growing on volcanic gravelly loam. Ehren Jordan ferments the wine without added yeast and raises it in a mix of new and used oak barrels and concrete eggs. The fruit is ripe, with a range of flavors, from tart apples to sweet grapefruit and orange. It feels spicy and gentle, achieving a soft balance that’s pretty and clean. (484 cases)
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 in the southeastern corner of Napa Valley in the Vaca range, the vineyards of the Coombsville AVA enjoy a long growing season mitigated by cool, San Pablo Bay fog.