This is for fans of forward oak that is balanced by racy acidity and a citrus tinged fruit profile. The citrusy character likely comes from a low brix point at harvest, but with 2021’s long hangtime allowing both ripeness and high acid content in the fruit I think the harvest decision was well chosen here. I would age this a while for full oak integration and calming of the acidity. This Chardonnay is going places.
Gary Farrell, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California) Chardonnay 2021
By Rich Cook