Sixto Moxee Vineyard Chardonnay 2015
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine
Spectator
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Savory, minerally and laser focus is the entry to a wine that gives you lime leaf, chamomile, spruce, stone fruit and so much complexity that it would take more time to describe than to unravel a ball of Christmas tree lights. Vines matured to 52 years which begs the question...how could it be better.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is showing concentrated notes of praline, apricot conserve, lemon meringue pie and butterscotch. Some Madagascar vanilla bean. Opulent and deliciously nutty, with a full body. Yet still youthful, somehow. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Revealing aromas of pear, preserved citrus and pastry cream, the 2015 Chardonnay Moxee Vineyard is full-bodied, bright and textural, with lovely definition and purity. Effortlessly balanced, it should drink well for the next 6 or 7 years, perhaps longer.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Chardonnay Moxee comes from a western slope at 1,550 feet in elevation and limestone soils. This gorgeous effort has a terrific perfume of ripe, pure pineapple and buttered lemon fruit as well as medium to full-bodied richness, a distinct minerality, and a creamy, layered textured. I love its vibrancy, but make no mistake, this is another rich, creamy, classy Chardonnay from this team.
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas are thoroughly enchanting, with notes of peach, clarified butter, candle wax, mineral, chamomile and lemon rind. It’s full bodied and textured, full of stone-fruit flavors with a tropicalfruit-filled finish.
Editors' Choice -
Wine Spectator
Precise and graceful, featuring vivid pear and citrus zest flavors, with toasty lees and spice accents that take on richness toward the finish. Drink now through 2022.
Other Vintages
2018-
James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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James
Suckling -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Wine
Enthusiast
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 large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.