Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Estate Chardonnay exhibits notes of caramel apple and pineapple upside down cake with subtle salinity. The rich and round palate is highlighted by fresh tropical fruits, salted caramel, and a clean inviting finish..
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Rich nose of vanilla crème brûlée then focused but generous flavours of yellow apple, plum and banana giving sunshine and warmth. A light touch of reductive winemaking gives a struck match and gunsmoke character to the finish, elegantly balancing the rich fruit.
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Wine Enthusiast
From grapes grown between 400 and 1,800-feet elevation, this impressive white overdelivers on its price point, showcasing the beauty of the site. Graham cracker, honeycomb and stone fruit contribute to a rich midpalate of complex concentration and length, finishing balanced and bright in underlying acidity.
Editors' Choice -
Wine & Spirits
This wine gets its cool tones from the high altitudes at the Jackson family’s Alexander Mountain Estate, a 5,500-acre property on the western slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. Lisa Valtenbergs builds the blend from a range of parcels, at elevations from 400 to 1,800 feet. While the texture is soft and mellow, the wine sustains a crisp green freshness and bright undertones of lemon. Satisfying to drink on its own, this will readily take on soft-shell crabs or other rich shellfish.
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.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.