Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Starting with the 2018 Chardonnay Russian River Valley, this quintessential Russian River Chardonnay offers loads of white currants, caramelized peach, honeysuckle, and spicy oak aromas and flavors. With good acidity, beautiful purity, and a layered, opulent texture, it's a gem of a wine well worth seeking out. This cuvée comes 80% from estate fruit.
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James Suckling
A dense, flavorful white with lovely honey and apple character. Hints of cookies. Full-bodied and very fresh with crisp acidity and a long, flavorful finish. Delicious. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay has pretty scents of dried leaves, hay and almonds with underlying spicy notes and a core of honeyed white peaches. Medium-bodied, the palate is silky in texture with savory, spicy character, seamless freshness and a long 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.