The 2023 Forman Estate Chardonnay comes from a singular Napa site on the Rutherford Bench, where well-drained soils and old-vine sensibility give the wine its unmistakable sense of place. Ric Forman has spent decades shaping Chardonnay with a seasoned hand, and that experience shows here in the wine’s balance of ripe orchard fruit, citrus oil, toasted nut, and subtle spice, all wrapped in a creamy but finely etched frame. It’s generous without being flashy, refined without being строг—a Chardonnay with real vineyard authority.

This is benchmark California Chardonnay because it captures what Ric Forman has always done best: make Chardonnay with depth, texture, and freshness in equal measure. It’s a seamless match for double-cut pork chops napped in apple-Calvados cream sauce, where the wine’s structure and lift cut through the richness while echoing the sauce’s fruit and savory sweetness. Put a few in the cart — this is the kind of bottle that sells the dish, elevates the table, and disappears faster than expected once the cork is pulled.