Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
A top-notch Chardonnay, the 2014 Grgich Hills 40th Anniversary showcases a freshness and liveliness that often shows up when a vintner uses organically grown grapes. The wine exhibits lively apple, dried leaves, and some earth in its flavors. The rich palate textures couple with it crisp and lively finish pairs it well with gravlax. (Tasted: May 12, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
A full and rich white with cooked apple, butter and mineral character. Full and layered. Flavorful finish. Made with organic grapes. Drink now.
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Wine & Spirits
This wine celebrates the fortieth chardonnay harvest since the wine Mike Grgich made at Chateau Montelena won the Judgment of Paris tasting. He went on to found Grgich Hills, and now works with his nephew Ivo Jeramaz, who farms the winery’s estate vineyard in Carneros organically, and barrel ferments this wine without added yeast. The 2014 is exotic, with scents of Asian pear, orange oil and cherimoya pointed up by honeyed spice. Jeramaz finds that honeyed character is tied to the maturity of the vines in the Carneros vineyard, planted to a mix of heritage clones. It feels cool and spicy, the structure underlined by oak, with the dynamism of the fruit persisting in a tangy finish
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Wine Enthusiast
outhfully wound up, this wine celebrates the winery’s founding in 1977. A waft of nutty marzipan opens the gate to a wonderland of lemon, apple, pear and pineapple, the acidity supportive in lending a refreshing backbeat to the fruit.
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Wine Spectator
Spicy oak stands out, as does the rich mix of tangerine, nectarine, white peach and vanilla notes, offering a core of upscale fruit cocktail flavors. Drink now through 2020.
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.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.