Walt Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Our 2018 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay opens with vibrant aromas of ripe lemon, fresh cream, slate, and subtle, spicy oak. The palate is broad and flavorful, with a rich and layered finish that is balanced by racy minerality. The unique mix of heritage and clonal selections brings depth and nuance to this lively blend.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Demure and focused, this wine is opulently textured in creamy vanilla and pear. A thread of pineapple weaves through the midpalate, nuanced in oak and balanced in weight. Throughout, an effusive nose of apple and orange blossom permeate.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The appellation 2018 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast comes from a mix of Bob's Ranch and Sangiacomo vineyard fruit and spent 15 months in 30% new French oak. It's slightly softer and more forward, yet still has terrific apple and spiced orange fruit, a kiss of background oak, medium-bodied richness, and a great finish.
Other Vintages
2020-
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wine
Spectator
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wilfred
Wong
WALT is dedicated to the production of premier Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Pacific Coast's most distinctive vineyard sites, spanning nearly 1000 miles and including Sta. Rita Hills, Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, and the Willamette Valley. Their philosophy is that of precision, non-interventionist winemaking, thereby allowing the wines to naturally and honestly express the character of the site where the wines are grown. Under the artisanship of Director of Winemaking Steve Leveque and Winemaker Megan Gunderson, WALT Wines will continue to evolve and develop.
Located in the heart of Sonoma, just off the historic Sonoma Plaza, WALT Wines focuses on sourcing Pinot Noir fruit from premiere appellations stretching from Oregon's Willamette Valley to the Santa Rita Hills in California to craft the finest wines possible.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.