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Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $40.95 $46.80
The 2017 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyards opens with aromas of lemon meringue, popcorn, banana chip and stone fruits...
WA
89
WS
88
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.63
12 bottles: $15.32
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.94 $42.48
12 bottles: $34.28
Made from Chardonnay grapes grown only 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the famous Goldridge soils of the Russian...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $38.94 $40.08
12 bottles: $38.16
The 2017 Chardonnay Estate opens with notes of toast, cream, lemon pith and hay over a core of Red Delicious apple...
12 FREE
WA
91
WS
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.94
6 bottles: $17.58
This layered wine comes from the neighbors' grapes, largely the noted Ferrington Vineyard, and offers enticing...
WE
92
WS
90
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.40
12 bottles: $19.99
Aromas of honeysuckle mingle with pink grapefruit and zesty key lime on the nose. On the palate, bright notes of...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $31.20
Attractive lemon-cream and peach aromas are framed in attractively fragrant spices. The palate has a succulent edge...
12 FREE
JS
92
WE
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $40.60 $46.40
This is very subtle and complete with cooked lemons and apples and a complement of straw and gunpowder. Full-bodied,...
JS
95
White
750ml
Bottle: $64.94
12 bottles: $63.64
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $87.95
12 bottles: $86.19
The 2017 Chardonnay Bearwallow Vineyard, from a site in the Anderson Valley, has an incredibly Burgundian bouquet of...
12 FREE
JD
94
WA
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $99.94
6 bottles: $97.94
The 2017 Chardonnay Buena Tierra Vineyard conjures up provocative notions of buttered popcorn, crème brûlée and...
12 FREE
WA
94
WS
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $74.90
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $38.92
Attractive, pear and chamomile-flower aromas with a fresh array of lemons, grapefruit and melon. The palate has great...
JS
93
WA
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $62.30
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $51.94
Hailing from Josh Jensen's iconic vineyard at 2,200 feet above the Salinas Valley, this is an epic Chardonnay, loaded...
WE
96
WA
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $89.95
This is big and powerful, without being ripe and heavy. So much apple, stone, and hints of toffee. Aromatic....
JS
99
WA
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $107.60
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $84.15
The 2017 Chardonnay Highland Divide was barrel fermented and aged 12 months on the lees in 33% new oak. It's toasty...
WA
93
VM
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $85.03
The 2017 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is a super-classic wine from this well-known site in Carneros. Apricot, candied...
VM
96
WA
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $256.95
The 2017 Gaia & Ray reminds me of a top Sonoma Coast Chardonnay with is incredible salty minerality as well as...
JD
94
WA
93

Chardonnay 2013 2017 Italy United States 750ml

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.