Winemaker Notes
Force & Grace Chardonnay boasts an aromatic nose of crisp apples, ripe melon, and sweet citrus. The bright palate draws on flavors of lemon and Fuyu persimmon, with an edge of stony minerality. Oak aging adds complex notes of vanilla, brioche, toasted coconut, and hints of cinnamon, swathed in a wonderfully rich texture and complemented by fresh balancing acidity.
Blend: 100% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A crisp and linear white with sliced pears, apples and lemon rind. Medium-bodied and crisp with a very cool, bright finish. Some stone undertones.
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Jeb Dunnuck
There are roughly 7,000 cases of the 2022 Chardonnay, so it should be easy to find, and it's more than worth your time. Mostly barrel fermented, it offers a ripe, medium-bodied, layered, balanced style as well as classic aromatics of honeyed citrus, white flowers, crushed stone, and a hint of background spice. It has outstanding balance and a pure, elegant profile that's a joy to drink.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay is mostly barrel fermented (80%), with the rest made in stainless steel. Offering scents of toast, caramel, honey, peach and pineapple on the nose, it's medium to full-bodied, rounded, ripe, generous and nicely silky in feel in the mouth, finishing with ample length.
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Wine Enthusiast
Vivid, ripe apple and pear flavors and good acidity give this wine a frank, fruity expression and a palate-cleansing texture. The wine is straightforward, full bodied and friendly enough to please a crowd.
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.