Winemaker Notes
No matter what time of year you open this wine, you’ll have a taste of summer in Napa Valley. Lush aromatics fill the glass with white flowers, lemon zest, honeysuckle, clove, and flint. There is a rich balance of liveliness and density in the mouth with abundant flavors of apricot, white melon, grapefruit peel, ripe pineapple, and minerality, with a beautiful finish that goes on and on.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I've always loved the Chardonnay from this team, and their 2019 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch has that classic richer, full-bodied style while staying balanced and light on its feet. Buttered lemons, tangerines, green almond, and toasty notes all make an appearance, and it's incredibly textured, with nicely integrated acidity and one heck of a finish. This powerful Chardonnay is going to impress right out of the gate.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Chardonnay Red Shoulder Ranch opens with opulent scents of pineapple upside-down cake, green mango and ripe apricots with hints of candied ginger, brioche, allspice and toasted almonds. The rich, creamy-textured palate is laden with tropical fruit and juicy peach flavors, supported by a racy backbone and finishes long and spicy.
Barrel Sample: 91-93 -
Wine Spectator
Features a minerally snap to the lusciously spiced Fuji apple, white cherry and dried apricot flavors that are backed by rich acidity. Pastry accents on the focused finish offer hints of beeswax. Drink now through 2025.
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Wine & Spirits
A citrusy vintage of Shafer’s chardonnay, this wine’s orange-blossom scents set the tone for the sweet fruit, even as the wine remains tight, with youthful energy to spare. Decant it while you grill swordfish with lemon and fresh dill.
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.