Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
We've long been fans of this 100% barrel-fermented wine aged in sur lie for nine months in French and Hungarian oak, but this vintage displays a surge of aromatics and flavors that is truly impressive. Ripe pear and lemon blossom perfume the air as the luxe mouthfeel of honeyed melon caresses the tongue. Intermingling notes of wet stone, charred caramel and yellow apple connect to an arch of bright acidity. The finish is juicy, with a twist of tangerine.
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James Suckling
This is creamy offering notes of glazed peaches, dried mangoes and caramel. Full-bodied, dense and viscous yet with vivid acidity coming through. Ripe and tropical in the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This well-rounded, fruity and lightly oaked wine offers the classic baked apple, butter and vanilla flavors backed by mild greenapple acidity and a full body.
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.