Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Grown at several sites, including the Schug estate vineyard in Carneros, this shows classic Carneros richness in a powerful, structural form. The wines sees little new oak, so the intensity of the fruit is front and center, holding a delicious tension between its scent of heirloom apples, earthy concentration and a layered, satiny undercurrent that's as fresh as chilled cream. It has the depth to benefit from a few years of age. Best Buy.
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Tasting Panel
Silky and juicy with tangy, balanced cool-climate fruit; bright, crisp and long - an exemplary Carneros Chard.
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.