Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
#2 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 of 2016
This is yet another stunning wine from this site, guided by the capable hands of Winemaker and Viticulturalist Bibiana González Rave, who has coaxed from it beguiling layers of complex concentration and sublime notions of tang and salt. The only white from a sea of Pinot Noir grown here, it speaks to what the extreme Sonoma Coast can bring to the variety—a celebration of lemon zest, crisp apple and brioche delicately wrapped in minerality.
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James Suckling
A very pretty and delicious white with sliced apple, honey, and hints of flan and lemon curd. A beautiful length and intensity to this.
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Wine Spectator
Showcases creamy tangerine- and nectarine-driven flavors, with lively acidity and a pithy citrus skin texture. The elements push through effortlessly, gaining depth and nuance along the way. Drink now. 800 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Chardonnay Wayfarer Vineyard sings of butterscotch, ripe apricots, orange blossoms and toasted almonds with suggestions of lemon peel and grapefruit essence. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with generous stone fruit and toasty flavor layers, defined by a racy line of acid and finishing with epic length.
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.