Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
One of America's most defined Chardonnay producers, these guys consistently make top quality wines, the 2014 Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay brings beautifully ripened fruit to the fore, with a touch of sweet oak and pleasing roundness. Medium straw, yellow color; ripe apple and creamed corn in the nose, friendly and inviting, pretty conventional in style; medium bodied, well-textured on the palate, with a pronounced roundness; dry, modest acidity or perhaps a hint of threshold sugar, good balance; appealing ripe fruit and creamy oak in the flavors; medium finish, smooth easy aftertaste. (Tasted: April 13, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
Founded by wine industry pioneer, Rod Strong, in 1959, Rodney Strong Vineyards is now owned by the Kleins, a farming-based family that prides itself on land stewardship and a relentless push for superior wine quality from Sonoma County. After purchasing the company in 1989, Tom Klein began the endeavor that today brings together excellent vineyards, the industry's finest winemaking equipment, and exceptional talent. The winery farms and sources grapes from vineyards throughout Sonoma County, focusing on Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill. Rodney Strong Vineyards is best known for its estate-bottled and vineyard-designated wines, and is also recognized for their sustainable and Fish Friendly Farming, dedication to solar energy production and becoming carbon neutral in 2009.
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 Sonoma sub-appellation whose boundaries cover the northeastern corner of the Russian River Valley AVA, the Chalk Hill growing area is named after its unique chalky and white, volcanic ash soils. This terrain has proven successful with white varieties, namely Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc.