Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Sourcing from vineyards in Carneros, the Russian River Valley, and the Petaluma Gap, winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen works with such prestigious growers as the Duttons, Sangiacomos, and Martinellis to make this spiritual white. It possesses an inner glow thanks to the juiciest peach, the sweetness of honeysuckle, and a splash of tangerine, which join underlying minerality, a lift of acidity, and a touch of vanilla nougat. The pineapple juice–like finish is memorable.
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Wine & Spirits
Markedly rich and quietly satisfying, this wine performs well above its price. The flavors of juicy apples and Rainier cherries have a sweet undercurrent of caramel and white chocolate. There’s a seashell savor that keeps it balanced and intriguing, especially with braised pork. Best Buy
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a tropical, floral and fleshy white wine from the coastal appellation, stone-like in texture and full bodied in style. The oak is spiced and supportive, with a lemon-cookie finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is rock-solid and has pretty pear, tart peach, and subtle citrus fruits to go with a medium-bodied, supple, elegant, and nicely balanced style on the palate. The acidity is nicely integrated, and this is just clean, pure, and delicious.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 MacRostie Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is pleasing and persistent on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers excellent aromas and flavors of ripe fruit, earth, mineral, and sandalwood. Pair it with grilled halibut topped with aromatic herbs. (Tasted: April 8, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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.