Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 51

YEAR'S BEST US CHARDONNAYS
a savory cast. Air brings up the fruit sweetness, lending the finish a note of crème
brûlée. Still, overall, it feels dry enough to
serve with grilled fish dressed in capers and
Meyer lemon. (175 cases) -J.G.
517540

92 | Cobb

$70

2017 Sonoma Coast JoAnn's Block Doc's
Ranch Chardonnay ^ Ross Cobb makes this
wine from a one-acre parcel of chardonnay
growing on a steep ridge three miles from the
Pacific, not far from his family's Coastlands
Vineyard in Occidental. The cold site produces a shy chardonnay, with crunchy fruitskin flavors that bring to mind a nectarine
as it's just beginning to come into ripeness.
The texture is supple, the flavors clean, and
with several days of air, the wine is brimming
with simple, direct flavors of the grapes and
the smokiness of the earth. (175 cases) -J.G.
517892

92 | Failla

$52

2017 Sonoma Coast No. 81 Chardonnay ^
A classical California style of chardonnay,
this wine brings rich tropical-fruit flavors
and brighter notes of yellow plums to its
oaken richness. The wood tones add notes
of vanilla, piecrust and bitter almonds, clean,
substantial and savory in the end. Pour it
with roast salmon. (304 cases) -J.G.
517362

92 | The Withers

$40

2017 Sonoma Coast Peters Vineyard
Chardonnay ^ Brisk and oceanic, this has
a spark of energy in its vinous flavors. It's
salty and fresh, focused on notes of yellow
apple and chewy apricot skins. The lasting
impression is simple, cool and bright, ready
for any fresh catch. (270 cases) -J.G.
517465

91 | La Pitchoune

$65

2016 Sonoma Coast The Key Chardonnay ^
This is the third vintage of The Key, the name
a reference to Steve MacRostie's training as
a US army cryptographer in Vicenza in the
1960s, where he got into wine. Winemaker
Heidi Bridenhagen assembled it from parcels
in the Russian River Valley, the far Sonoma
Coast and Carneros, creating a formidable
chardonnay, savory and complex, with deep
tones of chamomile and tart Rainier cherries.
The texture is as rich as a cream puff, lasting
with a buzz of alcohol. (182 cases) -J.G.

516517

90 | MacRostie

NEW YORK
FINGER LAKES
517291

91 | Knapp

$15

90 | Fox Run

$17

$25

90 | Patz & Hall

$65

2017 Seneca Lake Kaiser Vineyard Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ This combines savory
and fruit notes with aplomb, the whiff of
struck matchstick giving way to clean, bright
lemon-lime flavors that end clean. For chilled
poached chicken breast with preserved
lemon. (998 cases) -P.J.C.

2017 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (Best
Buy) ^ Crunchy green apple meets pineapple
sweetness in this fresh and supple chardonnay. It's cool and plump, with the juiciness of
fresh almonds. There's also saltiness to perk
up the zesty fruit. For a whole-roasted fish
with fennel. (W&S 6/19) -J.G.
515266
2016 Sonoma Coast Goldrock Ridge Vineyard Chardonnay ^ This offers the sunny
sweetness of California chardonnay in a
light, pretty wine with direction to its flavors. There's apple-skin crunch, oak presence in the scents of cinnamon and clove,
and an arrow of yellow-herb flavor tugging
on the round heart of the wine. Pour it with
pork roasted with apples. (W&S 4/19; 392
cases) -J.G.

517289

90 | Lamoreaux Landing

$20

88 | Fox Run

$13

88 | Glenora

$14

2017 Finger Lakes Reserve Chardonnay ^
Dusty and savory when first poured, this
wine takes on a lemony brightness with air.
Its sharp angles and textural intensity have
the cut for anything from the raw bar. (220
cases) -P.J.C.
517282
2017 Finger Lakes Doyle Family Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ Blending oak and apple
notes, this feels bright, with a refreshing snap
of acidity. (4,500 cases) -P.J.C.
517285

$68

2016 Sonoma Coast Pratt Vineyard Chardonnay ^ Sunny and bright, this wine's flavors of yellow plum and golden peach give
it a warm/cool contrast. Part of it feels soft
and fruity, part of it tight and tense. A hint
of gaminess in the scent suggests matching
it with roast baby goat. -J.G.
517532

and roast butternut squash. After some exposure to air, the wine feels meaty and superrich, with lasting cumin spice and nutmeat
flavors. There's more than just oak saturation, and the details might be more apparent in the company of salmon rillettes. (110
cases) -J.G.

2017 Finger Lakes Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^
Bright and limey, with a salty edge, this has
the texture of a crisp pear spritzed with
lemon, broad yet zippy. -P.J.C.
517281

$34

2017 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (Best
Buy) ^ A sunny chardonnay saturated with flavors of yellow plum, lemon and corn silk, this
wine's smooth richness is finely modulated.
The salty citrus and hazelnut notes reminded
Associate Editor Karen Moneymaker of the
agnolotti at LA's Spago, sometimes stuffed
with sweet corn, sometimes with chestnuts
in brown butter-and the wine would work
with either version. (1,725 cases) -J.G.
517680

92 | JCB

91 | MacRostie

517778

90 | Sangiacomo

$55

2017 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay ^ Oak
dominates when this wine is first poured, taking the fruit in the direction of bacon smoke

2017 Finger Lakes Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^
This wine has a scent of cut hay, and angular
flavors of green apple and white pear, with
just a hint of lees giving it a nutty, savory
edge. (524 cases) -P.J.C.

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

https://shop.macrostiewinery.com/product/2017-Sonoma-Coast-Chardonnay http://lamoreauxwine.orderport.net/product-details/0297/2017-Reserve-Chardonnay https://www.sangiacomowines.com/featured_item/sangiacomo-wines/

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019