Winemaker Notes
A pale spun gold when poured out, this wine opens with vibrant aromas of citrus blossom, honeysuckle, mandarin orange and lemon verbena. On the palate, flavors of dried apricot, stone fruit and beeswax emerge, with appealing mineral notes of pencil shaving and crushed granite. The bright acidity is nicely balanced by an elongated finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
This estate has turned out a bevy of truly brilliant Chardonnay, and you can’t go wrong with any of these. Starting with the 2016 Chardonnay Quail Hill Vineyard, it has a slightly green hue in its vibrant gold color and boasts a terrific bouquet of honeyed limes, spice, tangerine, and white flowers, with this terrific sense of salty minerality on the palate. Medium-bodied, balanced, and with both richness and freshness, it’s a winner and should evolve for 7-8 years. This cuvée was barrel fermented and spent 14 months in 55% new French oak.
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Wine Enthusiast
Heady floral and toasted oak aromas are inviting on the nose. Flavors of crisp apple and pear meld with additions of sea salt and pretzel.
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James Suckling
There’s a ripe, rich and smoothly delivered feel to this complex chardonnay with plenty of peach custard and grilled nuts. Super complex and savory. 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 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.