Winemaker Notes
Aromas of Meyer lemon, Asian pear and white flowers are supported on the nose by subtle hints of oak. On the palate, crisp apple, golden peach and pineapple. Heady flavors of graham cracker pie crust add a vein of richness. Fleshy, vibrant and concentrated, juicy yet balanced acidity drives a lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Predominantly from two high-elevation estate vineyards, Sable Mountain and Skycrest, the 2022 Chardonnay is rounded, fleshy, rich, and fruit-forward. It's also nicely cohesive and textured, with an appealing approachability and great backbone of acidity. With muscle and structure coming from Skycrest, it finds balance in the suppleness and silky texture of Sable Mountain fruit.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is a beautiful, vibrant gold in the glass, conveying delicate floral aromatics on the nose. On the palate, very ripe pear, marzipan and sweet cinnamon emerge. There’s also a potent, perfumy dried-floral component that some drinkers will love.
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Wine Spectator
Appealing for how all of its pieces fit together, offering notes of salted butterscotch, peach preserves, mango and orange blossoms, with a thread of baking spices. Shows vibrant acidity and a seamless texture on a generous frame.
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.