Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of two wines flirting with perfection (much like the 2012 has already achieved), the 2014 Chardonnay Point Rouge (275 cases in this vintage vs. 165 in 2013) is usually a selection by Nic Morlet and his brother Luc of the finest barrels in the cellar. Much of it comes from the old vines of Belle Côte. The 2014 comes across like a great Bâtard-Montrachet, with buttery apple notes intermixed with white peach, orange marmalade, caramelized citrus, great acid, full-bodied power, and a stunningly long finish of almost 45 seconds. It is often one of the three or four finest Chardonnays made in the world, and appears to be so in 2014. Drink it over the next decade, although they tend to last even longer. (The 2001 I just tasted was amazing.)
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.