Winemaker Notes
This wine opens with aromas of warm poached pears in cream with hints of baking spices and nutmeg. Soft on entry, round and full on mid-palate, crisp on finish with persistent fruit. Prominent flavors of Meyer lemon, tart Granny Smith apples, marshmallow, caramel, and nutmeg. Fermented and aged in all French oak barrels (20% new oak).
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Handley Estate Vineyard Anderson Valley Chardonnay speaks well of this AVA. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright with aromas and flavors of tart and ripe apple as it finishes with excellent brightness in the aftertaste. Pair it with steamed clams in a garlic, wine reduction broth. (Tasted: May 26, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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.
Surrounded by redwood forests and often blanketed in chilly, ocean fog, the Anderson Valley is one of California’s most picturesque appellations. During the growing season, moist, cool, late afternoon air flows in from the Pacific Ocean along the Navarro River and over the valley's golden, oak-studded hills. High and low temperatures can vary as much as 40 or 50 degrees within a single day, allowing for slow and gentle ripening of grapes, which will in turn create elegantly balanced wines.
The Anderson Valley is best known for Pinot Noir made in a range of styles from delicate and floral to powerful and concentrated. Chardonnay also shines here, and both varieties are often utilized for the production of some of California’s best traditional method sparkling wines. The region also draws inspiration from Alsace and produces excellent Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.