Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Okay guys and gals, my friends tell always talk about this wine, I won't tell you what they say, but the comments run the gamut. The 2014 Rombauer Chardonnay is the winery's best to date and a really delicious wine. It exhibits ripe fruit, alluring cream and sweet butter, but the wine is so well balanced and dances well on the palate and this has to be a good thing! This is one of the world's top chards! Medium straw, yellow color; alluring ripe core fruit aroma, some dried peach and finely ripe apples, excellent depth and drive; medium bodied, creamy and solid on the palate, firm textures, layered and fine with a slight gentle note; dryish, medium acidity, very good balance; ripe apple, light cream and a slight trace of butter; medium to long finish, smooth aftertaste. (Tasted: August 24, 2015, San Francisco, CA)
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.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.