Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Chardonnay showcases fruit, balance and the beauty of Mendocino. Enchanting aromas and flavors of white stone fruit, freshly-cut Honeycrisp and Meyer lemon zest are beautifully framed by a light touch of oak. Layered on the palate, this well-structured wine is rich and sustained by its natural acidity. Delightful on its own, it can also be paired with grilled lemon pepper chicken, Alaskan king crab, creamy Alfredo pasta or a chilled butternut squash soup.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is lively, with aromas of pineapple, apple, peach and potpourri on the nose. The flavors on the palate are white nectarine, apple and mandarin orange marmalade, gliding into dried rosemary, Meyer lemon zest, sedimentary rock and a dry, mouthwatering finish. A great bottling from a producer celebrating 50 years of family farming. Pair with roasted honey-glazed ham.
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 large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.