Winemaker Notes
Aromas of white flowers, lemon pith, and just-ripe white summer peach rise from the glass, carried by the imprint of wet grey rock, fragrant honeysuckle, and a subtle touch of lightly baked brioche. The palate unfolds with notes of barely ripe nectarine, citrus blossom, and minerality, capturing both the raw power and elegance of this windswept site. With a round and textural palate, the wine's depth, length, and precision ends with racy, crystalline finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Flinty minerality, sliced apples, lemons and pears as well as steel, fresh seaweed and nougat emerge clearly on the nose. Lots of sea-breeze undertones too. Medium- to full-bodied with density and tension, turning tight, linear, intense and muscular. Grips down at the end, showing phenolics, verve and grape skin. One for the cellar but wonderful to drink now.
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Vinous
The 2024 Chardonnay Charles Ranch is a wine of exceptional finesse, with silky contours and caressing layers of tangerine peel and passion fruit. All of the pedigree of this great site comes through loud and clear in this stunning Chardonnay. The fruit was sourced entirely from the old-vine sections, planted in 1981.
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Decanter
Charles Ranch is another historic site on the Fort Ross–Seaview AVA - planted in 1981 on rocky soils, pre-phylloxera, with vines that have slowly reduced their yields over more than four decades. Only about 10 barrels of this wine are made each year. The 2024 opens with notes of citrus peel, stone fruit, honeyed chamomile tea and a whisper of fresh herbs. There’s a silky textural mouthfeel, but the finish stays clear and focused. Compared to the more electric 2023, this vintage shows a touch more roundness through the mid-palate, though it remains beautifully elegant throughout.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The nuttier of the two, the 2024 Chardonnay Charles Ranch pours a straw/platinum color and has more intensity and depth, with aromas of quince, toasted hazelnut, preserved citrus, beeswax, and subtle baking spice. Full-bodied, it has layered richness balanced by bright acidity and mineral tension, with a long, savory finish.
As winemakers and farmers, Carlo and Dante attribute a great deal of what they have learned to their grandfather Robert and father Tim, both whom influenced them from a young age.
Carlo and Dante’s father Tim was a pioneer for California Pinot Noir in the early 1970s and has always had a tremendous regard for the great wines of Burgundy. To this day his Pinot Noirs from the 1970s are showing incredibly well. Carlo and Dante credit their father’s passion for Pinot Noir as the early inspiration that got them excited at a young age.
Dante studied abroad in Switzerland at the Webster University in Genève as well at UC Davis in California. Carlo studied in France at the University of Aix-en-Provence and in Italy at the University of Milan. After their formal studies were complete Carlo and Dante continued their educational work with the winemaking team lead by their father Tim Mondavi at Robert Mondavi Winery and Opus One.
When Robert Mondavi Winery was sold in 2004, the brothers joined their father Tim, Aunt-Marcia and grandfather Robert as they founded Continuum in 2005.
In 2013 Carlo and Dante founded RAEN winery with the goal to produce world class Pinot Noir on the western hills of the Sonoma Coast. RAEN currently focuses on making three Pinot Noirs, from three unique sites on the Sonoma Coast.
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.
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.