Winemaker Notes
The Seascape Vineyard Chardonnay shows keen acidity with Meyer lemon and exotic floral aromas backed by subtle saline nuances. These complex aromatics are complemented by chamomile, Mandarin orange, and key lime flavors, with a lingering finish of green apple and underlying mineral flavors—a truly unique expression of terroir along the western edge of Sonoma County.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving into a touch of savory aromas, with pine, sea spray, and lime zest, the palate of the 2019 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard is rounded up front, with more pineapple, and has a softer, more approachable texture than the Jennifer’s.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard is complex and intense with soaring aromatics and a very concentrated, spicy expression. It has exotic scents of apricot, ginger, grilled pineapple and blood orange, hinting at some possible botrytis. It makes for a singular expression and complements the satiny, expansive palate. It offers layers of tropical tones, honey, exotic spice and seamless acidity, and it finishes with tremendous length. The Seascape Vineyard is located at 1,150 feet in elevation, west of Occidental, and faces Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It was barrel fermented and matured for 13 months in 27% new French oak.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.