Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chardonnay Belle Cote has a seriously savory/sweet nose of brioche, beeswax, salty ham and toasted nuts with a core of warm apricots, candied ginger and chalk dust. Medium-bodied, with exquisite harmony and depth, it delivers intense stone fruit and spice flavor layers with a very long, toasty finish. 1,869 cases were made.
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James Suckling
Aromas of mustard flowers, orange flowers, pineapple and lime follow through to a full body. A tight and precise palate with a compressed texture of light tannins. Subtle and fruity finish. Savory and salty at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Combines rich, lively fig, melon and apricot with smoky, toasty oak shadings, giving this a sense of harmony, finesse, depth and complexity without being weighty.
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 small and picturesque valley separating Napa Valley on its south border and Alexander Valley to its north, Knights Valley excels in similar varieties as the two aforementioned appellations, namely red Bordeaux varieties and blends, as well as Sauvignon blanc. Originally established by Beringer Vineyards, today several outstanding producers claim acreage here. The circadian cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean create a nighttime respite for vineyards during the hot growing season.