Winemaker Notes
This stunning 2016 vintage is refined and expressive, with ripe citrus aromas, and a deep core of rich pear and honeydew melon flavors that bring fantastic complexity. The finish is filled with a touch of butter, a hint of toasted hazelnut and refreshing acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This Chardonnay comes from a single Wente selection clone planted on the Estate Vineyard on Los Carneros Avenue. The wine undergoes a very long, gentle pressing before being 100% barrel fermented with native yeast, using 30% of the oak new (mainly Francois Freres). It went through 100% malolactic and was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The 2016 Chardonnay brazenly sashays out of the glass with bold notions of mandarin peel, lemongrass, green apples and fresh pears plus hints of beeswax, honeysuckle and toasted almonds and a waft of nutmeg. Medium-bodied, the palate is very tightly knit with great freshness and loads of mineral sparks intertwined beautifully with all those citrus layers, finishing long and chalky. Elegant yet intense with amazing tension and exquisite poise, this should age incredibly! Only 500 cases were made. This wine is mostly sold through cellar door and a few distributors in California. Rating: 96+
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James Suckling
This is very dense and serious with freshness and powerful acidity that gives it intensity and focus. Goes on and on with so much floral and sliced-lime flavor and hints of white flowers, pear blossom and minerals. So beautiful to drink now, but will improve with age.
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.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.