Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard was 100% barrel fermented in French oak barrels, 15% new, and aged for 13 months. It comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant scents of baked apples, poached pears and spice cake with hints of powdered ginger, honeydew melon and brioche. Medium-bodied, delicately played and tightly wound in the mouth, it has great tension and loads of mineral nuances coming through on the finish. Stunning Chardonnay!
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Wine Enthusiast
A sumptous, inviting nose leads the way into this gracefully balanced and complex white. Rich layers of tropical fruit, vanilla and lemon meringue are dusted in baking spice and caramel, finding cohesion and resolve on the finish
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, which comes from the cooler Green Valley portion of the Russian River, offers a very clean, pure, complex style that's already a joy to drink. Notes of honeyed orchard fruits, spice, brioche, and floral nuances give way to a powerful, concentrated Chardonnay that has good acidity, plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, and a great finish.
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.
Situated on the foggier and colder western edge of the Russian River Valley, almost abutting the Sonoma Coast appellation, Green Valley is one of California’s most reputable Chardonnay and Pinot noir producing regions. It is also a wonderful source of sparkling wines made from these varieties.
Goldridge soils abound throughout the Green Valley appellation. This fine, dark, sandy loam and fractured sandstone is derived from the remains of ancient inland seabeds dating back three to five million years. It is valuable for high quality grape growing because of its excellent drainage and low fertility.