The 2020 Chardonnay Estate is a very pretty, airy wine. Hints of lemon peel, white flowers, tangerine oil and spice are some of the notes that grace this soft, weightless Chardonnay. All the elements are very nicely balanced.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard is a very pretty, fragrant wine redolent of crushed red berry fruit, chalk, mint, white pepper and orange peel. I admire its energy, class and transparent expression of Anderson Valley. This airy, weightless Pinot is a total charmer.

A textural Chardonnay with crystalline purity and plenty of tension to balance out the rich fruit flavours. Wet river stones, a saline brightness, white flowers and springtime herbs are interlaced with apricot, white peach, and lemon oil on this medium-bodied, expressive Chardonnay. Organically farmed grapes are hand-picked at night from three estate-grown and organic vineyards in Anderson Valley, near the towns of Boonville, Philo and Navarro along the Navarro River. Whole-cluster pressed, the grapes were allowed to fully oxidise before racking to barrel off the gross lees. Entirely barrel-fermented and aged 10 months in oak, of which just four percent is new.

The 2019 release marks the first vintage this wine was produced with a label that boasts of the organic grapes that produced this brooding and muscular Pinot Noir, which is all power and drive. Heady dark berry fruit and cedar spices segue into a rich mid-palate infused with red cherry, pomegranate, flamed orange peel and Indian spices. Talk about a standing-ovation finish: notes of clove emerge, followed by tangerine peel, crushed cocoa nibs, scented with blue fruit and dried flowers, all framed by silky tannins, and lifted acidity, freshness and balance. Small batches of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Pinot Gris grapes were allowed to spontaneously ferment with indigenous yeast. A combination of punch-downs, foot treading, and gentle pump-overs was used during a roughly eight-day skin contact maceration prior to pressing in a small basket press—slow and cool indigenous malo-lactic fermentation in 60-gallon French oak barrique.

“Two-thirds of this wine grows at Dach, the biodynamic vineyard surrounding Roederer Estate’s winery in Philo. Much of the rest comes from Walraven in Boonville, certified organic. Panelist Lisa Granik, MW, found the wine to be dynamic and alive, while Tina Vaughn pointed to its layers of flavor. This is quiet up front, with a pop of pomegranate fruit contrasting the wine’s warm elements with cooler tension”