Winemaker Notes
The 2022 vintage, one of Hartford Court's earliest harvests on record, gave them wines with precision and concentration. The Chardonnay has great elegance and bright acidity from the fruit harvested in August, with the fruit harvested in September giving more ripe fruit and richness.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from across the neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley, the 2022 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is ripe with aromas of toasted spice, orange rind, preserved lemon, honeysuckle, and baked apples. Full-bodied, with a ripe, classic feel, it has a nice, rounded mouthfeel and offers a lovely sense of place.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Lively citrus aromas mingle with whispers of white flowers and spice on the nose of this wine. The palate brings some classic richness with flavors of roasted apple, cinnamon and brioche, finishing with a bit of salty lemon towards the end.
-
Wine Spectator
Juicy flavors of lemon, pineapple and apricot feature floral details including orange blossoms and jasmine, along with crunchy sea salt minerality. Sleek and focused through the long finish. Drink now. 25,534 cases made.
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.