Winemaker Notes
Beautiful aromas of fresh pineapple, white flowers and barrel spice fill your nose. Thick upon entry this sensation continues in the mid palate with flavors of ripe pineapple and lime zest. Juicy tropical fruits are present in the long fresh finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chardonnay Martinelli Road has lush aromas of baked peaches, honeysuckle, allspice and pie crust. The medium-bodied palate has a creamy texture and rounded acidity with concentrated, spicy fruit and a long, layered finish. There's the slightest touch of bitterness here that doesn't detract from the wine, although I'd drink it over the short term.
Rating: 94? -
Wine Spectator
Complex and seamless, with a core of honeyed pineapple, mango and lemon meringue flavors that mingle with notes of toasted coconut, toffee and spices. Plump and smooth, ending with accents of toasted brioche and roasted, salted hazelnut. Drink now. 295 cases made.
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.