Sitting above the fog line, it receives the most sun on the estate, so it ripens the earliest. This vineyard is perched high (between 1,700-1,900 feet / 518-579 meters) above Knights Valley in eastern Sonoma. Peter Michael 2011 Chardonnay Ma Belle-Fille Sonoma County Just seconds before, I had written, “This is quite Montrachet-like”. Michael Browne told me Chardonnay is his favorite grape and that here he wants to make a wine akin to Montrachet. It tastes of lemon peel, muskmelon, hay, flan and Brazil nut. Primarily barrel-fermented (41% new), this head-turner is round and richly fruited yet it feels surprisingly lighter bodied than its 14.5% alcohol wine might suggest. Rather than the typical crescendo from modest to great, this tasting began with a wine that rocked my world. Kosta Browne 2011 Chardonnay One-Sixteen Russian River Valley The wine’s over-riding, multi-dimensional flavors include masses of ripe blueberries and black cherries along with strains of cigar box and charred meat. Goldfield always finds tarragon nuances here coming from this chilly site’s variable ripeness. Despite the rapier-like structure, there is incredible juiciness that entices from the tip of the tongue through the very long finish. This wine’s raging, delightfully mouthwatering acidity takes center stage while the lightly drying tannins timidly step out of the wings mid-palate. This bottling is lovely, especially if your tastes lean toward Burgundian styles. However, here the vine’s plight is our delight. The 2013 Freestone Hill suffered from impressively low yields due to poor flower set. These reviews are exclusively for finished, bottled wines tasted in 20.Ī list of all 501 scores by score and by alphabetical order of producer are at the bottom of the page.ĭutton-Goldfield 2013 Pinot Noir Freestone Hill Russian River Valley I also reviewed wines in New York City and London. Sonoma may feel quaint while strolling the Healdsburg Square, but the reality is that it isn’t small with 480,000 acres (194,250 ha). My ten-day visit was thorough, covering eight hundred and four miles (1,294 km) and 39 winery appointments. These Pinot Noir and Chardonnay tastings were primarily conducted in Sonoma over the course of two visits (one for ten days, one for three days).
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