Winemaker Notes
Ripe figs, honeysuckle, pear tart, and mineral notes are among the effusive aromas of this intense white, turning more tropical and vanilla-tinged on the palate, with cedary oak integrated among the copious layers of flavor. Bold and full-bodied, the rich and creamy mouthful finds finesse on the long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A stunning bouquet of tangerines, brioche, wet rocks, honeysuckle, lanolin, white flowers and quince emerges from this young Chardonnay. With a light gold/green color, great acidity, a rich, full-bodied mouthfeel, fabulous texture, and a 40+-second finish, the 2005 is still an infant in terms of development.
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Wine Spectator
Complex aromas of fresh-cut flowers, melon, beeswax and ripe pear. Full-bodied and layered, fleshy and elegant, delicate and subtle.
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.