Winemaker Notes
The word Panthera is believed to be of East Asian origin, meaning ‘the yellowish animal’ or golden yellow. As a reflection of this moniker, we have crafted a striking golden-yellow Chardonnay that is opulent in style and beautifully textured. This inaugural vintage offers yellow stone fruit aromas that lead to delicious flavors of peach, white pear and grilled pineapple. The gorgeous frame of fruit encompasses layers of well-integrated toasty oak and hints of crème brûlée. Panthera Chardonnay is unctuous but focused with a bright acid core that persists through a satisfying, long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This is the second vintage of this wine. Fruit comes primarily from Dutton vineyard. The 2017 Chardonnay Panthera charges out of the gate with energetic white peach, lime leaves, fresh apricots and lemongrass scents with wafts of honeycomb and nutmeg. Full-bodied, rich and seductive in the mouth, it has an enticing oiliness to the texture and plenty of racy freshness to balance, finishing long and savory.
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Wine Enthusiast
Voluptuous and oaky, this robust, richly layered wine offers dense flavors of graham cracker, caramel and pineapple. Lush on the palate, it has charm and body to spare, delivering full-bodied vanilla and nutmeg on the finish
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 standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.