Winemaker Notes
The 2020 Chardonnay has copious energy. Notes of lemon tart, honeysuckle, tangerine and pear emerge from the glass. Over time, elements of orange blossom, white peach, chamomile and a touch of flintiness evolve. The wine enters the palate with a rush of freshness reminiscent of the Northern California coast. An abundance of lively acidity complements the rich, deep texture, and the finish is marked by persistent, refreshing minerality.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chardonnay Wayfarer Vineyard is fragrant and layered with lemon verbena, toasted brioche, and white peach. It has detail and definition in its structure, with refreshing acidity and a stony, lifted finish. Drink it over the next 10 or more years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chardonnay Wayfarer Vineyard has pretty scents of baked apples, beeswax, roasted almonds and toast. The medium-bodied palate has a satiny texture and layered, savory flavors balanced by refreshing acidity, and it finishes long and flavorful.
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Wine Spectator
Impressive, with ripe mango, dried pineapple and tangerine flavors that are intense, focused and juicy. Details of lemongrass, cardamom and ginger linger on the long, expressive finish, with a supple frame adding an air of elegance.
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.
On the far western edge of the larger Sonoma Coast appellation, the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA hugs right up against the Pacific coast. Vineyards, planted at rugged elevations between 920 to 1,800 feet, occupy only two percent of the total land in the AVA. Fort Ross-Seaview growers believe that the region boasts an ideal mix of sunshine, cool air and beneficial stress for producing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot noir.