Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There’s some zip to this pale gold-hued wine, with loads of pear, citrus and flower aromas on the nose. Lovely minerality and acid balance show on the palate, bolstered by flavors of fresh pineapple, lemon pith and cinnamon.
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James Suckling
A juicy and savory chardonnay with sliced pear and apple with some walnut and almond paste. Sea shell. It’s full and layered with lots of flavor. Very primary and youthful. Dried apple.
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Jeb Dunnuck
A bright straw/silver color, the 2021 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is juicy with aromas of poached pear, delicate baking spice, honeydew melon, and white flowers. Medium-bodied, it’s juicy and fresh on the palate, with a light, pithy texture and a clean finish with a kiss of juicy sweetness.
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Wine Spectator
An elegant white, with subtle notes of pear, melon and citrus gaining momentum and verve on the finish, where juicy acidity takes over alongside lingering flavors of fleur de sel, lemon verbena and matcha, plus a hint of ginger. Drink now. 563 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.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.