Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Chardonnay grapes were immediately whole-cluster pressed off their skins once picked. Press fractions were managed carefully and the resulting wines impressed them, offering expressive fruit aromas and refreshing acidity with layers of rich texture. The individual Sangiacomo vineyard components were harvested at night and fermented separately in 30% new French oak barrels.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Located at the western base of Sonoma Mountain, the 2020 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard lends aromas of lime zest, wet stone, and ripe green apple. It has great concentration and tension on the palate, with notes of ripe pineapple and candied lime. Drink 2023-2030.
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Wine Spectator
Bold and harmonious, delivering tropical mango, pineapple and ripe peach flavors that are generous and juicy. Offers terrific purity and freshness, with vibrant acidity and hints of anise and grey salt, which linger on the finish. Drink now through 2029.
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.