More wines available from Hartford Court
750ml
Bottle:
$68.40
This vintage of the Far Coast Vineyard Chardonnay exhibits aromas of orange zest, yellow apple, dried fruits and...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.83
Rated 94 - The 2020 Chardonnay Four Hearts Vineyard comes mostly from 45-year-old Wente vines in the Laguna Ridge...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.90
$24.00
Rated 91 - Ripe and flinty, the 2021 Chardonnay Russian River Valley pours a golden hue and reveals aromas of ripe...
750ml - 1 Bottle
Bottle:
$136.63
Rated 95 - 93-95 The 2012 Chardonnay Stone Cote Vineyard (a block within the Durell Vineyard planted on gravelly...
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Winery
Hartford Court
Varietal: Chardonnay
In the past couple of decades, the sales of wines made with Chardonnay grapes has risen and fallen more than once. For many people, this green skinned grape was marred by a poor reputation for bland and uninteresting wines, a great shame considering the fact that Chardonnay grapes have proven time and time again to be interesting, versatile and full of surprises. Most commonly, fine Chardonnay wines are buttery, smooth and creamy as a result of malolactic fermentation, yet with hints of tropical fruits and orchard fruits such as apples and pears. What is most remarkable about Chardonnay grapes, however, is the fact that unlike many other 'white' grapes, they are exceptionally good at holding the characteristics of their terroir in the bottle. As such, despite their fluctuating reputation, this is one grape varietal which produces constantly surprising, impressive and varied wines.
Region: California
California has long been the New World's most important and prodigious wine producing regions, with a history which stretches back to the 18th century and the Spanish pioneers who settled here. Today, California produces vast quantities of wine, and if it were a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine on earth. Despite experiencing many problems in the mid 20th century, including a very serious blight which almost crippled the state's wine industry, the ideal terroir and excellent climate ensured that Californian wines soon became the envy of the New World once again. California produces a vast range of wines, and utilizes a long list of fine grape varietals, with many wineries and their produce more closely resembling those of France and other Old World countries in regards to character, practices and flavors
Country: United States
For three hundred years now, the United States has been leading the New World in wine production, both in regards to quantity and quality. Wine is actually produced in all fifty states across the country, with California leading the way by an enormous margin. Indeed, as much as eighty-nine percent of all wines to come out of the United States are produced in California, where the fertile soils and sloping mountain sides, coupled with the long, hot summers provide ideal conditions for producing high quality, European style red, white and rosé wines. With over a million acres of the country under vine, the United States sits comfortably as the fourth largest wine producer in the world, where imported grape varietals from all over the Old World are processed using a successful blend of traditional and contemporary techniques.
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
The mid-nineteenth century was a hugely important era for the United States wine industry, and it was in this period when Sonoma Valley was first used as a wine region. The earliest wineries which made the wide and flat valley floor their home recognized the potential the region had, and noted the fantastic climate Sonoma Valley received. Alongside this, they understood the importance of the mineral rich volcanic soils and geothermal springs of the region, which would go on to provide nutrition for millions of grape vines over the next century and a half. Today, Sonoma Valley is one of California's premier wine producing regions, and it is widely agreed that many of the state's finest red and white wines hail from this beautiful area.