Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This classic wine is rich and concentrated yet bright and elegant. Citrus, melon rind, oyster shell, toasted brioche and nutty notes flow into a beautifully constructed palate. There's crackling acidity straight out of the gate and subtle, toasty oak to ground it. Slippery and slinky, with salinity and depth of flavor, this is a finessed, balanced wine. Drink now–2028.
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James Suckling
Intense nose of flint, grilled peach, dried lemon, mango, hawthorn, toast and smoked almond. Full-bodied, yet tight and refined, with bright acidity. Compact, concentrated and delicious, with a long, lively finish. Drink or hold.
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Wine & Spirits
Virginia Willcock takes her prime chardonnay parcels on two separate paths: Mostly Gingin clone, two thirds of this wine is whole-cluster pressed and sent to barrels as unclarified juice. The other portion, harvested to handle some skin contact, gets direct-pressed and goes into barrels with most of its solids. Both lots ferment without added yeasts and age in their barrels (39 percent new) for nine months. Combined, they create a long, fresh, coastal chardonnay with depth. The skin phenolics add richness while also tightening the structure: The wine retains youthful lightness and an ethereal energy.
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 some of Australia’s most elegant and long-lived red and white wines, Margaret River is situated in the farthest reaches of Western Australia. Relatively warm and dry, the region is cooled by breezes from the Indian Ocean. Margaret River takes some inspiration from Bordeaux, producing top-quality Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Blends with firm structure, mouthwatering acidity, balanced alcohol and notes of herbs and spice. For white wines, refreshing blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon as well as complex, age-worthy Chardonnays are regional specialties.