Winemaker Notes
This wine shows at its best with full-flavored foods. Mouth-watering pairings include lobster ravioli or lobster roll with aioli sauce, fresh sea bass in lemon beurre blanc, Veal Milanese, or veal loin with a morel cream sauce. Gnocchi with sage and butter is an excellent vegetarian option.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chardonnay West Block brings a bit more power and intensity, with candied ginger, ripe stone fruit, and honeysuckle. The palate also brings more density as well as a sun-ripened feel, with preserved pear and toasted oak spice.
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Wine Spectator
Impressive for its creamy profile, with elegant shadings of nutmeg and toasted brioche to complement the poached pear, yellow apple and peach notes, showing plenty of restraint. Drink now.
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.