Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Franciscan Estate Chardonnay is a bright white wine from California with delicate aromas of white flower and lemon zest. Juicy and light, this wine offers layers of peach and honey that pulls through to a clean finish.
Enjoy this wine with citrus-dressed salmon or roasted chicken with orange sauce.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Featherlight, with wispy notes of candied pineapple, crème fraîche, and honeysuckle, this wine overdelivers on quality for the price, showing a complexity one doesn't expect at this level. At the intersection of creamy and lean, it finishes with wonderfully spiced pear tart and Brazil nut.
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James Suckling
Rich in ripe fruit flavors but unoaked, this wine displays the real character of the chardonnay grapes from mostly Lodi. No malolactic or barrel aging, it is packed with vibrant green apple, golden apple and Bosc pear flavors and carries a hint of sweetness.
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Wine Enthusiast
This stellar offering is from a legacy producer with holdings all over sun-drenched California. Fresh and vivacious aromas on the nose suggest yellow apple, red apple skin, peach and citrus flowers, with a whisper of oak. These flavors accentuate the supple midpalate, leaving fruit and minerals in its wake. Pair with chilled farro, summer squash, fresh herbs and olive oil.
California’s most praised white wine, Chardonnay is also the state’s most planted white grape variety. Diverse terrain and microclimates allow for an incredible range of wine styles.
Chardonnay planted in the cooler, coastal zones takes on bright characteristics like lemon zest, key lime, green apple and wet flint. For this style, look to the chilly Sonoma Coast, Carneros, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Lucia Highlands and Edna Valley.
The inland zones of California’s coast, such as the Russian River, Sonoma, Napa and Livermore Valleys maintain a more Goldilocks-esque climate where both styles go. Early picking retains acidity and creates a leaner style but leaving the grapes to hang creates an approachable Chardonnay, balancing richness and finesse.
Chardonnay also plays a major part in the sparkling wine production of the Anderson Valley and Carneros.