Wine & Spirits - October 2020 - 47

YEAR'S BEST CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAYS
90 | Matthiasson

$34

2019 Napa Valley Linda Vista Vineyard
Chardonnay ^ With all its fleshy apricot and
kumquat flavors, this wine could be fat but
for the girding of mineral acidity tightening around it. Rich layers of fruit last right
through the end, along with a lanolin-like
gaminess. Chill it for grilled pork sausages.
-J.G. (1,188 cases) §
519679

90 | Miner

$35

2018 Napa Valley Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^
From its smoky scents of lees through its preserved-lemon flavors, this is a clean, savory
chardonnay. It hints at sweetness in its honeyed texture and almond pastry tones, a richness that will take on salmon rillettes or scallops in puff-pastry shells. -J.G. (W&S 6/20) §

OAK KNOLL DISTRICT

tered chardonnay follows a narrow path. It
impresses with clarity rather than weight, a
bright, light and mouthwatering wine that's
all about simple pleasures. Pour it on its own,
or with pan-roasted lemon sole. -J.G. §

wine. It's zesty and clean, ready for panroasted sand dabs. -J.G. §

SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

2017 Alexander Valley Estate Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ Lisa Valtenbergs blends this
wine from parcels on the Jackson family's
Alexander Mountain Estate, a 5,500-acre
property on the western slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. This is a classic California
chardonnay in the best sense: A fresh, oakguided beauty in shades of green-gold and
white. Oak contributes a hint of butterscotch
sweetness to an otherwise savory wine, layering scents of white roses, apples and wildflower honey through a lasting finish. The
wine feels gracious, perplexing, intense and
pure. -J.G. (3,901 cases) §
520966

519757

93 | Keenan

$38

2018 Spring Mountain District Napa
Valley Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ Michael
Keenan farms a large block of chardonnay
adjacent to his winery on Spring Mountain,
the vines planted in 1995, close enough to
underground springs that they provide an
abundant crop without irrigation. His 2018
is intriguing and layered, a complex mountain-grown chardonnay with an earthy tannic
briskness to sustain it. The flavors range from
lime to yellow apple and green plum, firm
enough to absorb the oak in which it aged,
and to last, with the cool pallor of a morningsun wine. -J.G. (W&S 6/20; 2,040 cases) §

S ONOMA C OUNT Y
521055

521121

93 | Heitz

$63

2018 Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
Quartz Creek Vineyard Chardonnay ^ This
is the first release of Heitz's Quartz Creek
chardonnay, a wine focused by an early harvest and limited influence of new oak (90
percent of the wine aged in neutral French
oak ovals). It feels light and airy, with fresh
acidity enlivening the nectarine and bright
lemon flavors. It's perfumed the way summery-ripe fruit openly shares its fresh aroma.
A lovely direction for Napa Valley chardonnay. -J.G. (800 cases) §

90 | Landmark

$27

90 | Matanzas Creek

$26

2018 Sonoma County Overlook Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ Bright with lemon-zest freshness, this wine has honey and butterscotch
scents that contrast its brisk, tart fruit flavors, lending some tension to a round, soft
and clean chardonnay. Pour it with a lemony
roast chicken. -J.G. §
521050
2018 Sonoma County Chardonnay (Best
Buy) ^ A broad, substantial chardonnay that
focuses on earthy notes and buttery richness, this is tightly structured and firm for its
size. Full and generous, it will stand next to
roasted white meats and creamy mushroom
sauces. -J.G. (4,906 cases) §

ALEXANDER VALLEY
520968

94 | Stonestreet

$45

91 | Legacy

$75

91 | Stuhlmuller

$48

2017 Alexander Valley Chardonnay ^ Graham Weerts blends this wine from two of the
top parcels at the Jackson family's Alexander Mountain Estate, Upper Barn and Cougar Ridge. It's a bold chardonnay, powerful
in flavor yet integrated, its oak prominent
even as the wine feels tense and clean. As it
opens with air, the flavors take on the layered
richness of an almond confection while the
fruit sustains a bright, refreshing lift. -J.G.
(347 cases) §
520972
2017 Alexander Valley Summit Chardonnay ^ This grows at a north-facing block at
the top of the Stuhlmuller estate vineyard,
planted to an aromatic clone of chardonnay
that, as one panelist noted, "drinks like a
viognier." The wine fermented and aged in
a combination of barrels, both French oak
and acacia, which points up the floral scents,
while the fruit feels spicy and cool, with flavors of tangerine and fresh apricot. -J.G.
(145 cases) §

CHALK HILL
519838

92 | Rodney Strong

521056

88 | St. Francis

521253

92 | Trefethen

$38

2018 Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ Buzzing
with grapey freshness, this simple, unfet-

$17

2018 Sonoma County Chardonnay (Best
Buy) ^ Candied-orange and pink-grapefruit
flavors meet some high-toned acidity in this

$22

2017 Chalk Hill Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^
Rod Strong first planted chardonnay in the
white volcanic soils of Chalk Hill in 1965, and
this estate-grown wine carries a memory of
that chalky soil in its mineral freshness and
apple-skin spice. It's clean and powerful, that
power driven by some reduction that keeps
the wine tight. Give it time in a decanter
to open up, then serve as an aperitif with
poached prawns. -J.G. (W&S 4/20) §

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2020

https://www.heitzcellar.com/product/2018-heitz-cellar-quartz-creek-chardonnay https://www.stfranciswinery.com/product/2018-soco-chardonnay https://www.trefethen.com/Our-Wines/Signature-Wines/2018-Chardonnay

Wine & Spirits - October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2020