Winemaker Notes
Enjoy this focused chardonnay with triple cream cheese such as L'Explorateur or pan seared scallops.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Chardonnay Rosemary's Vineyard is just beginning to mature on the nose, with notions of petrol, gunflint, ruby red grapefruit and tangerine with quince paste, smoked almonds and sweet spices in the background. It’s medium to full-bodied, intensely flavored and über savory, tempered by juicy acidity and finishing long and minerally. I love the dynamic that this cuvée presents, with savory notions opposed by bright freshness, citrus and mineral character. This is lovely and is drinking beautifully now.
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Wine Enthusiast
Light in aromas, this wine shows light honeydew, gray slate, wet cement and a hint of butter crisps on the nose. The palate is also delicate, with lime juice that arises on the midpalate and lasts through the finish. Citrus-blossom elements add to the bright, light and tight flavors.
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.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.