Winemaker Notes
Lemon meringue, pineapple, and white flowers on the nose. Tangerine, green pineapple, and white sage on the palate. The mouth feel is firm and acidic.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Gnesa Chardonnay opens with some gunflint and smoky reduction, giving way to toasted hazelnut, gingersnap, honeycomb and warm peaches with a line of saline/crushed shell and a lime peel hint. Medium-bodied, silky and intense in the mouth, it walks a lovely line between savory fruit, citrus and mineral character, with a great line of tangy acidity and a long, energetic finish. This is wonderful!
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Wine Spectator
Succulent flavors of red peach, Gala apple and dried mango are loaded with exotic spicy notes. Plush midpalate, with a creamy finish that offers accents of dried tarragon.
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Jeb Dunnuck
There are 230 cases of the 2017 Chardonnay Spear Gnesa, which spent 10 months on lees in neutral oak. It offers a more tropical style in its buttered lemon, caramelized pineapple, white flowers, and minty aromas and flavors. Rounded, textured, and fleshy on the palate, it has plenty of richness and depth as well as purity and freshness. It’s another high-quality Chardonnay that will drink well for 4-5 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
White flowers meet with wet wool on the fresh nose of this bottling from an own-rooted vineyard planted to the Clone 3 of Chardonnay. The flavors are exotic and taut, with guava skin, citron and lemongrass proving unique and attention-grabbing.
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 superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.