Winemaker Notes
Made from a selection of the best free run barrels, this is a great introduction to Chardonnay from hillsides of the "Deep End" of Anderson Valley. It offers the verve and balance that Rhys' Chardonnay customers expect with delicious, early charm and a spicy finish reminiscent of the Bearwallow Pinot.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The single vineyard release from Anderson Valley is the 2015 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard and it offers more citrus oil, white flowers and lemon characteristics compared to the Anderson Valley release. With building richness, a sensational texture, integrated, yet bright acidity, and a great finish, it’s just another killer Chardonnay from this estate that’s well worth your time and money. Like the Anderson Valley release, it’s far from unapproachable today, yet it will keep for a decade or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard is the most expressive of the vineyard designate Chardonnays today, offering up a pretty nose of crisp green orchard fruit, white flowers, subtle nutmeg and lemon curd. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, bright and intense, with an elegantly textural attack, good concentration and a long, mouthwatering finish. It's not quite as searingly stony as the Horseshoe or Alpine bottlings, but that only lends it additional youthful charm.
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.
Surrounded by redwood forests and often blanketed in chilly, ocean fog, the Anderson Valley is one of California’s most picturesque appellations. During the growing season, moist, cool, late afternoon air flows in from the Pacific Ocean along the Navarro River and over the valley's golden, oak-studded hills. High and low temperatures can vary as much as 40 or 50 degrees within a single day, allowing for slow and gentle ripening of grapes, which will in turn create elegantly balanced wines.
The Anderson Valley is best known for Pinot Noir made in a range of styles from delicate and floral to powerful and concentrated. Chardonnay also shines here, and both varieties are often utilized for the production of some of California’s best traditional method sparkling wines. The region also draws inspiration from Alsace and produces excellent Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.