California Chardonnay can take on many personalities depending on numerous factors. When Chardonnay is grown in cooler pockets of California from specific soil types (typically close to the coast), it can reveal an expression quite like white Burgundy, offering more citrus, hazelnut, and sometimes oyster shell notes from specific soils. On the other end of the spectrum, warm-climate examples harvested later can be heavy, fuller-bodied, and high in alcohol. This wine was fermented and aged in French oak barrels, about 30% of which were new, so there is a perceptible new oak character here. Further its lees (spent yeasts) were stirred monthly while it matured; you likely detected a yeasty, bread-dough character like Burgundy, although this wine also shows less detectable minerality on the finish. Discerning between California Chardonnay and French examples can be challenging as the climate in Burgundy warms, resulting in lower-acid Chardonnays. We purposely choose more balanced examples of California Chardonnays, because the market has changed a lot since the “buttery” era of the ’90s and 2000s. From a blind tasting perspective, you’ll find that California Chardonnay rarely captures high levels of minerality; whereas soils in Burgundy are rich in limestone, California’s soils are not. Classic expressions of white Burgundy offer intense floral perfume, oyster shell, and hazelnut notes that are not often found in California Chardonnay—although there are examples that have been known to trick French winemakers (e.g. Stony Hill, Sandhi). On the other hand, there are examples from Burgundy (Puligny, Chassagne, Meursault) that, when picked late in a warm vintage and aged in lots of new oak, can show very similar characteristics to the typical ripe California Chardonnay. Blind tasting Chardonnay is a moving target these days, but trust your gut and it will start to make sense over time.

The wine exhibits a medium golden-yellow core with light golden hues on the rim. Concentration of color is medium-plus. Viscosity is medium-plus. The nose is youthful and assertive, with aromas of ripe yellow apple, Bosc pear, white peach, yellow flowers, lees, dried lemon, and a light, well-integrated touch of baking spices. The wine is dry and medium-plus in body. The palate exhibits flavors of yellow apple, pear, white peach, preserved lemon, white flowers, and slight hints of baking spices and a touch of butter. The finish is a touch leesy (yeasty) but has little to no mineral presence.