Winemaker Notes
The glass glistens a pale straw-gold, reminiscent of a yellow diamond. The nose is an ambrosia of spring florals, orange blossom and citrus notes with a little vanilla. There is exquisite palate weight, softened by judicious use of neutral oak. It erupts with vibrant bright fruit, juicy tangerine, apricot and lemon curd perfectly balanced by the mouth-watering tartness. Finishes dry with a delicate nut oil and slightly candied lime zest.
2018 was a picture-perfect vintage! There on the Sonoma Coast, they experienced a very long growing season and a nicely expanded harvest with precise pick dates. Weather was mild and the summer was filled with cool, foggy, mornings which burned off to warm summer days – not too hot or too cold but just right. What they call a Goldilocks vintage! Perfect available water and this impeccable weather combination ended in fruit that was truly developed and matured at lower Brix levels- which results in nice low alcohols and plenty of succulent flavor. It was a great vintage for color, flavors and tannin development. The wines show a superb marriage of earth tones and beautiful ripe fruit.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast has delicate wafts of hay, golden apples, saline and crushed almonds with floral hints. The light to medium-bodied palate is fresh with delicate honey-nut character and a long, lifted 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.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.