Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Stone Flat Vineyard sings of fresh white peaches, lime blossoms and honeycomb with touches of almond croissant and crushed rocks and then, with coaxing, reveals subtler lemongrass and mandarin peel scents and powdered ginger hints. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with vibrant citrus and spice layers, supported by a solid line of freshness and finishing wonderfully minerally.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Sourced all from the Durrell Vineyard, yet from a single block and clone, the 2016 Chardonnay Stone Flat Vineyard is closed and tight at present, yet has incredibly clean citrus, white flowers, and crushed rock nuances. With medium body, racy acidity, yet gorgeous balance and purity, give bottles 2-3 years and it will keep for a decade or more.
Rating: 94+
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.