Winemaker Notes
Pale straw in the glass with aromas of lemon, pomelo, and wet stone. Waves of citrus flavors mingle with Gravenstein apple and the faintest whisper of oak, kissed by a pleasing salinity reminiscent of sea spray and oyster shell.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: As an ardent supporter of the Sonoma Coast AVA—though some experts say the AVA is too large and not well defined—The Calling 2019 is a remarkable wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine sails with aromas and flavors of green apple, chalk, and mineral notes. Enjoy it with a garden-fresh salad topped with grilled octopus. (Tasted: June 28, 2022, Petaluma, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
With a depth of oak and big, ripe fruit, notably pineapple and melon, this wine is generous in body and ripeness, with an underbelly of baking spice and vanilla. The rich style is given a lilt of brightness through underlying acidity.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.