Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Silky, fresh, and elegant, with classic structure and bright notes of citrus and peach; juicy and balanced. Another home run for this label.
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Wine Enthusiast
With classic notes of green apple, white flower and lime, this impressively layered white is quenching in acidity, with a subtle backbone of toasted oak. Textured and complex, it unfurls lovely additional notes of candied lemon and wild honey.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Gary Farrell Olivet Lane Vineyard Chardonnay is bright, lively, and delicious. TASTING NOTES: This wine delivers outstanding aromas and flavors of ripe fruit, savory spices, and oak accents. Pair it with panko-coated, pan-fried flounder. (Tasted: July 17, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Minerally and fresh, with hints of dried mint and anise to the fresh-cut green apple and Asian pear flavors. The svelte finish is backed by crunchy acidity and filled with toasty accents. Drink now through 2024.
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.