Handley Anderson Valley Chardonnay 2018
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Wong
Wilfred -
Suckling
James
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Handley Anderson Valley Chardonnay exudes aromas of warm poached pears with hints of baking spices and nutmeg. Soft on the entry, round, and full on the mid-palate, crisp on the finish with persistent fruit. Prominent flavors of Meyer lemon, tart Granny Smith apples, marshmallow, caramel, and nutmeg. Fermented and aged in all French oak barrels (20% new oak).
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Handley Anderson Valley Estate Vineyard Chardonnay is bright and alive on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers aromas and flavors of apple, dried earth, savory spices, and chalk. Serve it with a nicely seasoned, oven-baked chicken. (Tasted: October 17, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Dry herbs, white cherries, sliced lemon and persimmon on the nose. Medium-bodied. Vanilla and lemon rind on the palate. White pepper, too. Bright and sleek. Drink now.
Other Vintages
2017-
Wong
Wilfred
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Spirits
Wine &
At Handley Cellars we offer a wide variety of wines that complement today's diverse cuisine with its worldwide influences. Handley's winemakers Milla Handley and Deny Dudzik seek to make balanced wines that possess distinctive varietal characteristics, wines that reflect the soil and climate in which they were grown.
Our quality starts with our vineyards: one at our estate in the Anderson Valley, and one in the Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County.
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.
Surrounded by redwood forests and often blanketed in chilly, ocean fog, the Anderson Valley is one of California’s most picturesque appellations. During the growing season, moist, cool, late afternoon air flows in from the Pacific Ocean along the Navarro River and over the valley's golden, oak-studded hills. High and low temperatures can vary as much as 40 or 50 degrees within a single day, allowing for slow and gentle ripening of grapes, which will in turn create elegantly balanced wines.
The Anderson Valley is best known for Pinot Noir made in a range of styles from delicate and floral to powerful and concentrated. Chardonnay also shines here, and both varieties are often utilized for the production of some of California’s best traditional method sparkling wines. The region also draws inspiration from Alsace and produces excellent Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.