Winemaker Notes
The intense nose is delicate and very focused, with aromas of star jasmine and white peach, nicely framed with the elegant
oak that contributes notes of hazelnut. The palate is rich and savory yet crisp and mouth-filling, reminiscent of baked apple
and lemon custard. The finish is long and perfectly balanced.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A full-bodied white with ripe aromas of cooked apple, mango and yoghurt. Toasty undertones. It builds on the palate with loads of fruit and intensity. Rather old-school chardonnay, but solid.
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Wine & Spirits
A fragrant chardonnay with scents of lilies and fresh apricots, this tastes youthful and clean. While it’s barrel fermented and undergoes malolactic conversion, it isn’t overtly oaky or buttery; instead, a touch of vanilla cream adds gentleness to the fruit. Serve it with pork roasted with apricots.
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Wine Enthusiast
From the producer's 30-acre estate of Chardonnay planted to three clones, blended together here, this white offers pronounced flavors of stone fruit and vanilla bean. Soft, smooth and rounded, it has enough acidity to keep in balance and touches of nut and baking spice to give it a savory 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.