Winemaker Notes
Aromatically compelling. Dried apricot, white anise and onward. A mediumbodied, full-flavored mouth of deliciousness. Lemon curd, orange cream and chamomile leads the way as flavor combines and compounds for a long, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Satisfying aromas of candied apple, honey and basil leaf follow through to a full body that’s bright and formed with beautiful fruit and underlying freshness and savoriness. Just a hint of cream and blanched almond. Lemon curd. Juicy finish. Complete. Half fermented in concrete and rest in large barrels.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Stone fruits, caramelized citrus, licorice, and a touch of toast all emerge from the 2017 Chardonnay Uncovered, which is medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, textured, and long. It’s going to benefit from a year or two of bottle age and keep for a solid 7-8 years, probably longer.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Beginning with elements of dusty apple skin, lemon tart and almond butter, the 2017 Chardonnay Uncovered offers aromas of waxy greens and toasted nuts. Medium-bodied, the wine has depth and character with flavors of yellow apple and a soft phenolic bitterness across the mid-palate, ending with a leesy and mineral finish.
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.
An important winegrowing state increasingly recognized for its high-quality reds and whites, Washington ranks second in production in the U.S. after California. Washington wines continue to gain well-deserved popularity as they garner higher and higher praise from critics and consumers alike.
Washington winemakers draw inspiration mainly from Napa Valley, Bordeaux and the Rhône as well as increasingly from other regions like Spain and Italy. Most viticulture takes place on the eastern side of the state—an arid desert in the rain shadow of the Cascade mountains. Irrigation is made possible by the Columbia River. Temperatures are extreme, with hot and dry summers and cold winters, during which frost can be a risk.
Washington’s wine industry was initially built on Merlot, which remains an important variety to this day, despite having been overtaken in acreage planted by Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Bordeaux blends and Rhône blends are common as well as single varietal bottlings. Washington reds tend to express a real purity of concentrated fruit. The best examples have a bold richness, seamless texture, plush or powdery tannins and flavors such as licorice, herb, forest floor, espresso and dark chocolate.
In terms of white wine from Washington state, Riesling is the state’s major success story, producing crisp, aromatic examples with plenty of stone fruit that range from bone dry to lusciously sweet. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc perform nicely here as well, and Viognier is beginning to pick up steam.