Winemaker Notes
The texture of the 2020 Upper Barn Vineyard Chardonnay is both opulent and elegant with an acidic backbone and powerful structure that is consistent across the palate. Aromas of cantaloupe, honeycomb, and honeysuckle burst from the glass with beautiful concentration and structure that will only improve with cellaring. This wine is perfectly balanced with flavors of tropical fruit and notes of toast that fully envelope the palate. The finish is round and mouthwatering, with lingering flavors.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard has a lush perfume of ripe pineapple, apricot, and toasted spices. Full-bodied and well-balanced, it’s long and graceful on the palate within its large frame. Offering notes of marzipan, ripe melon, and lemon pastry, as well as a floral finish, it takes on a seamless nature in structure and balance and should have significant longevity over the next 8-10 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard was matured for 10 months in 40% new oak. It feels reticent and coiled at this stage, with delicate notes of burnt lemon peel, iodine, apricot and flint. The light-bodied palate has delicate, zesty flavors and some leesiness on the finish. Drink it over the next few years.
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.
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.