Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A rich and opulent white with aromas of cooked apples and lemon rind, as well as hints of smoke. Toasted. Full body with a lovely silky phenolic texture. Juicy and savory. A bigger style but remains agile. Drink in two or three years after yeast.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Edward James Estate charges forth with robust apricot preserves, guava and pineapple paste scents followed up by croissant, honey-nut and yeast extract accents plus a waft of lemongrass. Full-bodied and richly fruited, the palate provides powerful tropical and savory flavors with a racy line of freshness and a very long, toasty finish.
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Wine Spectator
Shows off jazzy smoky, toasty oak notes with a core of citrus and pineapple, melon, fig and apricot flavors, sailing along on a long, rich aftertaste. Drink now through 2023.
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.