Winemaker Notes
Sourced from the Russian River Valley where the cooling fog from the Pacific Ocean blankets the vineyards, reducing temperatures by 35 to 40 degrees at night and fostering a long, even growing season. Notes of baking spices, ripe pear and apple, peach, lemon custard and hints of orange blossom and vanilla toast. Fermented in French, American and Hungarian (27% new) oak barrels. The wine underwent 50% malolactic fermentation and then barrel aged 90% for 7 months. We admit it: we’re in love with Sonoma County! Its incredible diversity makes it unique and provides us the rare opportunity to work with grapes from an amazing collection of superior appellations—from cool, coastal regions to warm, rugged mountain sites and everything in between. This broad array of distinctive growing conditions allows us to craft a portfolio of sustainable wines that captures the full range and beautifully expressive characteristics of Sonoma’s world-class wine districts.
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 standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.