Winemaker Notes
Beautiful fruit aromas of zesty lime and Meyer lemon, yellow apple, yellow pear and kiwi complement notes of lemon verbena, chalkboard dust and crushed granite. Broad and juicy, the palate echoes the yellow apple and pear on the nose along with additional notes of apricot, hints of white peach, pineapple and honeysuckle. The delicious fruit flavors carry on a long, minerally finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lovely aromas of lemon curd, fresh thyme and straw. Medium-bodied with pleasant balance and nuance. Rather delicate with a savory finish.
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Wine Spectator
Elegant, seamless and distinctive, with an aromatic air of nutmeg and cardamom adding aromatic punch to the core of smooth, juicy and fresh citrus and apple flavors. Reveals a lingering hint of salted caramel. Drink now through 2030.
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.