Winemaker Notes
A seamless, vivacious, and mineral-driven expression of Chardonnay, delivering beautifully intertwined aromas and flavors of lemon blossom, stone fruits, flint, and crystalized ginger.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a rich and complex white from the producer's estate, sleek and focused within a lush, voluptuous style marked by oak. Jasmine aromas lead to dense layers of pear, melon and apricot that linger around a spicy finish.
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Wine Spectator
Plush white fruit flavors show hints of ripe tangerine, along with toasty accents. Dried mango midpalate leads to a finish loaded with cooking spice accents and caramel hints.
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 small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.