Winemaker Notes
Pear, River Rock and Lemon Zest on the nose, with White Peach, Salinity and Salted Caramel on the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The most shut down of the three Chardonnays, the 2017 Chardonnay Rosemary's Vineyard comes from a fabulous site in the Arroyo Grande Valley and was aged 15 months in 20% new French oak. Reticent notes of orchard fruits, white flowers, oyster shell, and crushed citrus all flow to a concentrated, rich, medium-bodied Chardonnay that's beautifully balanced, has a smoking sense of salinity, and delivers a great finish. Do your best to hide bottles for 2-3 years and it should cruise in cold cellars for over a decade. Rating 96+
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Wine Enthusiast
Asian pear, Meyer lemon pith, white-melon flesh, sea salt, lime zest and a judicious touch of buttercream all swirl in aromatic harmony on the nose of this bottling. There is a steely grip to the sip, where a chalky structure wraps joyous flavors of lime pith and lemon cream.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Rosemary's Vineyard, aged 16 months in 20% new French oak, offers crushed stone and lime peel hints to begin, accenting apples, quince and nutty notions. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and intense with a great interplay of honey-nut and citrus-mineral character, finishing long and energetic.
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Tasting Panel
Smooth and tangy with exquisite fruit and acid structure; soft, subtle oak and a lengthy, crisp finish.
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.
One of the coolest growing areas in California, the Arroyo Grande Valley runs from the southwest to the northeast, just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Central Coast AVA. Situated so that cold Pacific Ocean air and fog is allowed to filter into the valley, Arroyo Grande also has an incredibly long growing season. Bud break occurs in February in most years with flowering in May and harvest in late September; the area is classified as cool Mediterranean.
These weather factors combined with the soil types—continental and marine rocks, greywacke, limestone, shale and volcanic—create wines with great concentration and fresh acidity. The cooler end of the valley is perfect for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and is a good producer of sparkling wines. The warmer, more inland part of the valley is home to some of California’s oldest Zinfandel vines.