Winemaker Notes
This wine entices with aromas of baked apple, white peach, cinnamon, butterscotch, hazelnut and marshmallow complemented by elegant, upfront flavors of pear, fig, orange blossom, creamy vanilla, graham cracker and caramel toast on the finish. The cool climate of Napa Valley Carneros and Russian River Valley impart their unique finesse to the wine, while the Alexander Valley component adds an intensely rich mouth-filling character.
This full-bodied Chardonnay pairs perfectly with richer dishes like roast chicken or pork, pasta in a creamy sauce, eggs benedict, richer seafood such as roasted lobster or scallops, grilled veal chops with mushrooms, late summer vegetables like butternut squash, corn or pumpkin...pumpkin ravioli for fall, and foie gras for a special treat.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Opens with spicy, toasty oak that lends depth and dimension, leading to shades of green apple, spice, pear and melon on the finish. Loses a little texture and suppleness while maintaining a persistent focus. Drink now through 2020.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Ferrari-Carano Reserve Chardonnay stands proudly as one of California's top representatives of the buttery style Chardonnay. The 2015 vintage a beautiful wine that wraps itself around the palate with plenty of TLC. TASTING NOTES. This wine is creamy, buttery, and sturdy. Its aromas and flavors of ripe apple, cream, vanilla would be a perfect foil with roast chicken in a tarragon-infused cream sauce. (Tasted: October 22, 2018, 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.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.