Winemaker Notes
The 2023 Estate Chardonnay is an electric and mouthwatering wine, with notable acidity and minerality. Upon opening, the nose is generous yet refined, with subtle notes of brioche, Fuji apples, Meyer lemon and a hint of saline. The palate leans Old World, with a focused mid palate and persistent finish. This is an incredibly classy wine, with fabulous mouthfeel and energy.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A bright straw/yellow hue, the 2023 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is zesty and fresh with notes of dewy wet stones, lemon verbena, pear, and honeycomb. Medium to full-bodied, it has a fantastic electric energy, with mouthwatering salinity, pure, ripe density, and a driving spine of acidity. It reveals subtle hints of butterscotch on the back palate as it opens, while brilliant notes of green apple last on the long finish. A lovely Chardonnay all around, it should continue to drink well over the coming 10-12 years. They used to over-vintage this wine, but in this vintage, Michael Cruse, who makes this wine now, took it off the lees instead of keeping it in the tank on the lees an additional year.
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James Suckling
The lime, sliced green apple and honey aromas dominate. Full-bodied and broad shouldered, with flavors of honeysuckle, lemon rind and hints of other white flowers. There’s density and lightness to this.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
In 2022, Hirsch started bottling its estate Chardonnay at 11 months. Consulting winemaker Michael Cruse, “suggested we stop over-vintaging it,” Jasmine Hirsch explains. “I think it helped bring down the lees expression to show the terroir and natural texture this wine has,” noting that the vines, planted in 1994, are now 30 years old. The 2023 Chardonnay Estate underwent full malolactic conversion and was matured in around 30% new oak. It is pure and expressive with aromas of peach, apricot, green guava, citrus blossoms and brioche. The medium-bodied palate pairs bright, refreshing acidity with ripe fruit and a mouth-coating texture, and it has a long, flavorful finish.
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Estate is laced with hints of tangerine oil, chamomile, citrus confit and white truffle. Like so many wines in this vintage, the Chardonnay is delicate and gracious. The 2023 is more understated than in some recent years, but it's classy and polished just the same.
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.
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.