Winemaker Notes
Red Car Estate Vineyard Chardonnay offers notes of lime rind and seashell.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard marries notable textural presence with the energetic style that is such a house signature. Citrus confit, orchard fruit, white flowers, mint and chalk are beautifully delineated. This builds nicely on the mid-palate and finish. There's a touch of new oak and the influence of later picks, both of which build texture.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Chardonnay Estate Vineyard saw 17 months in barrel and opens to fresh aromas of wet stones, candied lime, starfruit, and citrus blossoms. Elegant and medium-bodied, it has lovely, mouthwatering fresh acidity and a clean, delicate, saline feel with lemon citrus. It’s lovely on the palate and retains a vibrant feel.
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Wine Spectator
Offers fresh, sleek notes of white flowers, lime curd and lemon zest, with vibrant acidity. Pretty accents of lemon balm and lemon verbena join a crunchy sea salt detail on the finish. Drink now. 250 cases made.
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.