Winemaker Notes
The Red Car Estate property perches high above the Pacific Ocean, a mere 3.2 miles from its coastline in the northwestern corner of the Fort Ross-Seaview appellation. This site has only 2.25 acres of Chardonnay; all planted to Old Wente.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is so compact and dense, with a depth of fruit that draws you down so deep into the wine. Full, creamy and flavorful. Clarity throughout. Lots of structure.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard reveals harmonious aromatics of key lime, pristine green apple, crushed stones, and delicate baking spices. The palate is fresh and tension-driven, with salinity, pineapple, and citrus pith. Enjoy this white over the next 10 years.
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Vinous
The 2020 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard is a dense, phenolic wine, for Red Car. A wine of structure and textural intensity, the Estate is heady and enveloping in feel. Orchard fruit, white flowers, mint and dried flowers are nicely laced together in this substantial Chardonnay.
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Wine & Spirits
In the northern neighborhood of Fort Ross–Seaview, Red Car’s estate vineyard is planted on sandstone soils less than four miles from the coast. The vines, hovering around 1,000 feet, are powerfully influenced by the fog, growing a 2020 chardonnay with pale elegance and lasting fruit flavors of yellow plum, litchi and lemon zest. Lees aging brought out an almond tone, holding the wine in a fresh, gentle structure.
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Wine Enthusiast
This sunny, tropical-tasting wine boasts pineapple and banana aromas, along with juicy lemon and mango flavors. The wine is nicely crisp, lively and well balanced.
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.