Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
A full-bodied chardonnay with layers of fruit and some tannins that provide richness and texture at the same time. It’s so rich and intense. Extremely long and flavorful. Give this some time to open and come around. Try after 2022.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Chardonnay La Riviere is one of the bigger wines in the lineup, yet it still has plenty of freshness and focus. White flowers, toasted bread, brioche, and assorted lemon and riper citrus notes emerge on the nose, and this medium to full-bodied, nicely textured, balanced wine is geared for enjoying over the coming 2-3 years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay La Rivière is scented of lemon, almonds, crème fraïche and beeswax with stony nuances. The light-bodied palate is soft and creamy with citrusy fruit and generous baking spice character.
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.