Featuring outstanding-rated white wines, this week’s lineup showcases the high quality of today's California Chardonnays. With nearly 90,000 acres planted in California, Chardonnay remains at the top among white grapes in the Golden State. Recently, many winemakers have focused on harvesting grapes with lower sugar levels, which has amplified freshness and acidity in their wines. As a result, the category’s style is tilting toward more restrained versions with mineral and floral accents.
In Sonoma, the sprawling Russian River Valley is home to numerous microclimates and diverse vineyard sites, including some of California’s finest for Chardonnay. Here, wineries like Hartford Court and Gary Farrell stand out for their elegant, concentrated and complex bottlings, like those featured below. Hartford Court’s offers vibrant lemon, apple and tangerine flavors while Gary Farrell's bottling shows juicy peach, apple and salted melon notes.
This lineup includes Etude's Chardonnay Carneros Grace Benoist Ranch 2022, a distinctive white wine with floral, tamarind, lemon and apple notes. Read on to get our score and full tasting note for this outstanding California Chardonnay and nine others!
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