This Chardonnay is grown on the Gundlach Bundschu estate in a zone cooled by the Petaluma Gap. The average vine age is 30 years, and some of it dates to 1970. The fruit was vinified in barrel, 20 percent new, with mix of ambient and cultured yeasts. It spent ten months in French oak prior to bottling, and did not go through malolactic.
It’s shiny yellow color and perfumed of lemon rind, green apple, and yellow raisin. The wine has zesty acidity and flavors of tropical and citrus fruits. This is not a creamy, buttery wine, and the oak influence is in check, imbuing the wine with a tannic structure and oxidative notes rather than toast and spice. It’s a good value for well made California Chardonnay from a great neighborhood.
2019 Gundlach Bundschu Estate Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Sonoma County
14.2% ABV | $27 (sample)
