Winemaker Notes
Pale straw with hints of green at the rim. Layered aromas of crisp Asian pear, tangerine peel, and chamomile intertwine with a touch of sea salt. Rich and mouth-coating, the palate showcases baked apple, toasted almond, and crème brûlée. Refreshing acidity and flint-like minerality create tension through an elegant and memorable finish.
Vegan-Friendly
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
So dense, minerally and almost chewy, this powerful wine is poised with great acidity, packed with tangy, chalky flavors on a full body. With time in the glass it opens to more richness, showing baked apples, poached pears, toasted almonds and vanilla bean. It opens with citrus and saline notes and progresses to more baking spices and ripeness that lead to a long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Chardonnay Edward James Estate is a bright yellow-green color and delivers fantastic crystalline purity and intensity in its notes of lime cordial, green apples, melon, and saline. The palate is laser-like but not austere, medium to full-bodied, with electric energy and a pure compact core of ripeness as well as a long and linear feel. It’s fantastic to taste now but also has the ability to age over the coming 10-12 years.
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Edward James Estate is all class. Soft contours frame notes of lemon confit, tangerine peel, mint, white pepper, chamomile, dried flowers and baked apple tart. There is a feeling of translucence to the 2023 that is so appealing.
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Wine Spectator
An expressive white, with delicate flavors of apple pastry, preserved lemon and fresh Honeycrisp apple that are juicy and bright. Crunchy sea salt, dried pineapple and honeycomb notes emerge, as do orange blossoms and panna cotta. There’s a lovely, creamy texture and a fresh bolt of acidity on the 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.