Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Oak plays a structural role in this chardonnay, framing the wine’s white plum and litchi richness in an edge of nutmeg spice. The fruit in the middle of the frame is soft, the edges savory, with leesy bitterness that holds a scent of white flowers. Intriguing and integrated.
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James Suckling
A linear and tight white with sliced lemon and green apple, as well as hints of honeysuckle. Medium body with a creamy texture and a salty, jasmine undertone to the fruit at the finish. Solid. Phenolics.
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Wine Spectator
Fragrant, with orange blossom, lemon zest, lime sherbet and fresh pear flavors that are elegant and precise, while accents of sesame seed and sea salt minerality linger on the smooth finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This smooth, harmonious, silky wine offers a seamless mélange of apples, peaches, almonds and vanilla on a medium body, while subtle acidity persists on the palate and helps the fruit flavors echo on the finish. In a nutshell, it is rich but very well balanced.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast has intense aromas of yellow apples, Greek yogurt, honey and hazelnuts. The palate is satiny and mouth coating with a concentrated core of honeyed fruit. It’s balanced by refreshing acidity and has a long, ethereal finish.
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.