Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This very intense and creamy with light pie crust, apricot, lemon rind and peach pie. Full body and round texture from the phenolics. Very long. Some herb and iodine on the finish. Sneaks up on you! Wow.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Chardonnay Ma Belle Fille offers plenty of wet rocks, caramelized citrus, and again the apple blossom component -- or is it apple butter? There is a lemon meringue character as well, not to mention brioche. It is definitely different than the other Chardonnays, and it certainly seems as though the Calera clone component comes across very differently.
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Wine Spectator
Very trim and spicy, a touch raw and woody in texture, with a citrusy edge to the green apple, nectarine and white peach flavors, ending long and clean. Will benefit from some cellaring. Drink now through 2020.
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.