Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Russian River and a windy, cool vineyard near Sebastopol, the 2017 Chardonnay Jennifer's (100% old Wente clone) was fermented and aged 16 months in 30% new French oak. It's one of the more dense, concentrated wines in the lineup and offers gorgeous caramelized pineapple, flower oil, chalky minerality, brioche, and lemon curd-like aromas and flavors. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it packs an incredible amount of intensity yet still stays chiseled, elegant, and focused on the palate, with incredible length. It's a stunning wine in every sense. Drink bottles any time over the coming decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
WOW—the 2017 Chardonnay Jennifer’s Vineyard reveals the most beautiful perfume of beeswax, peach blossoms and lemongrass with a core of spiced apples, poached pears and almond croissant. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers layer upon layer of savory, citrus and stone fruit flavors, finishing long and spicy.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a late-ripening site in the cool, windy Sebastopol Hills, Jennifer’s gives off a rounded richness and voluptuous texture, alongside flavors of pear compote and baking spice. Classically structured and racy, it has undeniable weight and concentration that taste unexpectedly light on the palate.
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.