La Crema Kelli Ann Vineyard Chardonnay 2018
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
On the nose, hints of citrus blossom, fresh nectarine, and toasted hazelnut are followed by flavors of lemon curd, white peach, and mandarin candy. On the palate, the 2018 vintage has excellent concentration and an elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Chardonnay Kelli Ann Vineyard comes from the Russian River and has a classic, up-front, sweetly fruited, sexy style as well as lots of pineapple and honeyed peach fruits, medium body, a supple, elegant texture, and good acidity that keeps the wine clean and classy.
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Wine Enthusiast
Moderate in body weight and structure, this wine is richly concentrated in tropical fruit and butterscotch, with an undercurrent of toasted oak. The texture is lush and plush, with impressive length.
Other Vintages
2017-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
The winery's original name, La Crema Viñera, means "best of the vine," setting the standard for all the team has done since 1979. For more than 35 years, the family-owned and operated winery has focused exclusively on cool-climate appellations, from its original home in the Russian River Valley, to Monterey and, now, the Willamette Valley. La Crema is continually exploring these very special regions—passionate in the belief that they make uniquely expressive and elegant wines. Thorough vineyard site selection and boutique winemaking techniques ensure the consistently distinct, naturally balanced wines La Crema is committed to producing.
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 standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.