Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Lemon saltiness and candied pineapple are the pleasure principals behind this wine. Spiced apple helps build an unctuous, big body with good acid for balance. Opulent and outgoing.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch was a smaller crop for Chardonnay than the 2013, and shows the mandarin orange characteristics with tropical fruit such as pineapple and subtle hints of peach and delicate background smoke. It’s medium to full-bodied, lively, and should drink well for another 3-4 years.
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.