Winemaker Notes
Beautifully integrated tropical flavors such as pineapple, mango, and papaya, with citrus notes that explode in your mouth. These flavors delicately intertwine with aromas of vanilla and honey to create depth and balance throughout. A hint of toasted oak and butter rounds out the long, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Concentrated and creamy but not overly showy, this wine is balanced, restrained and layered. It meshes an apple-tart flavor with subtle vanilla and nutmeg nuances while underlying acidity achieves excellent balance.Editors' Choice.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay is firm and rewarding on the palate and long in the finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine brings aromas and flavors of ripe fruit, savory spices, and oak front and center. Pair it with grilled pork chops and freshly-picked garden greens. (Tasted: April 22, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay Vintner's Reserve is scented of yellow apples, baker’s yeast and hazelnut with tones of beeswax. The medium-bodied palate features concentrated, honeyed fruits, juicy acidity and a long, nutty finish.
California’s most praised white wine, Chardonnay is also the state’s most planted white grape variety. Diverse terrain and microclimates allow for an incredible range of wine styles.
Chardonnay planted in the cooler, coastal zones takes on bright characteristics like lemon zest, key lime, green apple and wet flint. For this style, look to the chilly Sonoma Coast, Carneros, Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Lucia Highlands and Edna Valley.
The inland zones of California’s coast, such as the Russian River, Sonoma, Napa and Livermore Valleys maintain a more Goldilocks-esque climate where both styles go. Early picking retains acidity and creates a leaner style but leaving the grapes to hang creates an approachable Chardonnay, balancing richness and finesse.
Chardonnay also plays a major part in the sparkling wine production of the Anderson Valley and Carneros.