Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Similar to the '05, the winery's '06 Allen Chard is quite dry and savory, and shows the minerality this vineyard often displays. Yet it's also creamy and fruity, offering up a wealth of sweet Meyer lemondrop, white peach and lime flavors. Feels a bit nervous and immature now, and could improve considerably in the cellar over the next several years.
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Wine & Spirits
Fresh apple flavors sparked by mineral leesiness come up from behind the oak spice of this wine. Cinnamon warmth drives the aromas, but the wine finishes clean and fresh. For boudin blanc.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh floral, citrus, green apple and tangy lemon-lime notes taste as good as they smell. Full-bodied, elegant and balanced, with lively acidity and a long, clean finish, showing a hint of mineral and oak on the 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.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.