Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Freeman Ryo-fu Chardonnay has a pale, straw color and appears youthful in the glass. The complex aroma combines stone fruits, fresh hay, apples and lemon custard. On the palate, the wine displays a balancing act of high, refreshing acidity with a mouthful of wonderfully ripe Chardonnay fruit. A flavorful and refreshing finish predicts a long evolution for the ’22 Ryo-fu, which will drink well from 2024 through 2030.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A tight and solid white with Korean pear and sliced apple with some mineral and white peach. Medium body. Lively acidity and vivid finish. Lovely complexity and freshness. Lightly chewy and crunchy. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant version, with intensity to the juicy flavors of lemon curd, mandarin orange, mango and ripe melon. Offers a sprinkle of fleur de del, lemon zest and orange blossom notes on the creamy and soft but juicy finish. Drink now. 500 cases made.
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.
Situated on the foggier and colder western edge of the Russian River Valley, almost abutting the Sonoma Coast appellation, Green Valley is one of California’s most reputable Chardonnay and Pinot noir producing regions. It is also a wonderful source of sparkling wines made from these varieties.
Goldridge soils abound throughout the Green Valley appellation. This fine, dark, sandy loam and fractured sandstone is derived from the remains of ancient inland seabeds dating back three to five million years. It is valuable for high quality grape growing because of its excellent drainage and low fertility.