Jax Vineyards Dutton Ranch Chardonnay 2017
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Parker
Robert
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The berries were firm at harvest and therefore vivid, deep flavors, great acidity and excellent freshness. The wines will be very pure, with strong specific vineyard signatures. But moderate weather prevailed throughout summer. The lack of heat waves kept sugar levels and phenolic maturity in sync. Ripening progressed slowly and predictably. Winemaker Kirk Venge ages this wine in 30% new French oak over a period of 10 months, allowing the fruit’s characteristics to shine. The beautiful concentration of fruit flavors take on the richness from the French oak barrels while the wine’s balanced acidity maintains a crisp, bright palate. This wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined and will cellar till 2022 and beyond.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Dutton Ranch was aged 10 months in 30% new French oak. It opens with leesy pear, quince and yellow apple with a minerally undercurrent plus accents of hay, button mushroom, acacia blossoms and honey. The palate is medium-bodied and intense with honeyed, fleshy fruits, fresh acidity and a long, layered finish with just a touch of warmth. 175 cases produced.
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Brother and sister team, Trent and Kimberly Jackson collaborated with their vintner “green thumb” father to found their first label in 1996. Over time the two identified their unique niche among next generation wine enthusiasts. Outliers from the dominating short list of old school napa wineries, the two saw an opportunity to buck the “en vogue” winemaking style of their day to focus on the unique terroir of their family vineyard. After all, “change comes first at a small scale driven by the smaller more nimble producers.”
Soon after, cult Winemaker Kirk Venge was recruited to create balanced wines reflecting varietal character and a sense of place. Passionate about our vineyard site, integral to our clone and root stalk selections, and now 15 years in, Kirk has reinforced their instinct that focus should always be on “sense of place” to understand the nuances that allow us to make great wine.
To differentiate from their small lot single vineyard Jax line, they launched “Y3” to scale and offer more “true to varietal” wines from various AVAs (spanning Napa and Sonoma). The “Y3” symbol was the cattle symbol used on their grandparents’ cattle ranch, Yarrayne. The “3” represents three generations of land tilling entrepreneurs.
In 2013, the siblings recruited a third partner, Dan Parrott, a no nonsense individual with a laser focus on balanced wines (historically working in Italian import houses) and a true burgundian aficianado. Dan keeps the sibling rivalry in check and runs Jax like a well oiled machine.
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 standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.