Winemaker Notes
The nose hits you with complex aromas of hazelnut, crème brûlée, and preserved lemon. Upon entry, you get a mouthful of bright and zesty lemon, followed by flavors of fresh pastry and golden delicious apple. The finish is accentuated with yellow pear and wet stone.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Aged in 60% new oak, the 2021 Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch has a medium golden yellow hue and is rounder on the nose, with notes of baked apples, vanilla spice, buttered citrus, and honeysuckle. Rounded and full-bodied, it has a concentrated, elegant, viscous feel with a silky, supple texture and a long, elegant finish, as well as mouthwatering acidity underneath.
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Vinous
The 2021 Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch is the most savory and phenolic of the Martinelli Chardonnays. As such, it is a wine of earthy subtlety and nuance, with fruit pushed into the background. Dried fruit, herbs, spice and dried pear are some of the notes that shape this distinctive, virile Chardonnay from Altamont and Goldridge soils in the Laguna Ridge district of the Russian River Valley.
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Wine Spectator
A bold version, with a rich mix of toasted marshmallow, coconut and brioche that mingles with pineapple, peach and baked apple flavors. Despite the richness, there's a fresh thread of acidity, plus a touch of salted butter shortbread and a hint of dried ginger on the long finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch opens with touches of flint that give way to candied peach, honeycomb and roasted almonds on the nose. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and mouth coating with concentrated, honey-nut flavors, bright acidity and a long, flavorful 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.