Freddy R. Troya

9.2

The Calling “Dutton Ranch” Chardonnay 2023
Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma County, California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A very expressive and generously styled Chardonnay sourced from the legendary Dutton Ranch vineyards, one of Sonoma’s most respected grower sites. The Calling crafts this bottling with a fruit-driven and naturally energetic personality, allowing the vineyard character to shine through without excessive winemaking manipulation. A Russian River Chardonnay that leans vibrant and mouthwatering rather than overly buttery or heavy.

Aromas & Flavors
Juicy tangerine, lemon curd, Honeycrisp apple, and ripe pear immediately jump from the glass. As the wine opens, layers of lemon verbena, ginger, citrus zest, jasmine, and subtle green tea nuances begin to unfold, adding complexity and freshness to the profile.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with a rounded yet energetic texture. Bright acidity keeps the wine lively and refreshing while the fruit concentration gives it a generous California richness. The finish is persistent, citrus-driven, and beautifully mouthwatering.

Food Pairings
Excellent with roasted chicken, buttery seafood dishes, crab cakes, grilled salmon, creamy risotto, or triple cream cheeses.

Verdict
A compelling Russian River Chardonnay that balances generosity and freshness extremely well. The Dutton Ranch fruit gives this wine a very polished and expressive character while still maintaining tension and precision. Rich enough for California Chardonnay lovers, yet vibrant enough to remain highly approachable.

Did You Know?
Dutton Ranch is one of Sonoma’s most iconic multigenerational vineyard sources, supplying grapes to numerous top-tier California producers. Their cool-climate Russian River fruit is especially prized for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thanks to the region’s fog influence and long growing season.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is the type of Chardonnay that reminds you why Russian River Valley became world famous for the style in the first place. Expressive, mouthwatering, and dangerously easy to revisit glass after glass. Cheers! — a month ago

David Kline

9.3

Cherry blossom, lemon zest, whiff of powder, lime pith candied grapefruit nose. Lemon tart, lemon verbena and lemongrass emerge from warm lemon depths. Chalky and precise, this producer delivers a very pointed and yet complex offering evoking salivation and reverberating with cool herbaceous undertones.

#chassagnemontrachet #bourgogneblanc #whiteburgundy #2019 #gagnard #gagnarddelagrange #grandvindebourgogne #misenbouteilleálapropriéte #burg — 4 years ago

Severn G

8.9

Nose has fresh lemon slice, lemon juice on chalk, lightly oxidized yellow apple slice and crushed oyster shells.

Palate has warmed lemon, lemon peel, wet chalk, orange peel, (minor) lemon verbena tea with a sandstone-chalky finish.

A fun, but youthful, Chablis; expect this bottle to show better in 2021-22+. — 6 years ago

Matt

9.2

So much deliciousness in the glass. Verdicchio crushing it again and again. Vibrant, succulent, zippy acid and loads os texture and charm. My favorite IT white grape. Ripe yellow fruit, a kiss of tropical to it, peach, meyer lemon, plum; exotic herbs and floral tones, jokingly saying it smells like Garnier Fructise shampoo, but its herbal, fennel, aloe, verbena all together, lovely salty mineral backbone, green almonds, cheese rind and lemon cream. Great length and finish, the acid balances the phenolic structure and body of the wine perfectly. All concrete and lees contact make for a distinctive wine here. — 7 years ago

Spencer Spetnagel

9.0

Lemon verbena and minerality dominate the high tone nose. Playful and light across the palate, but has gorgeous depth to fill all the surfaces. A lingering and nuanced finish. Can’t wait to put my efforts into these vines. Thanks Isabelle for this vintage. — 7 years ago

Jay Kline

9.4

Opened prior to dinner and enjoyed over the course of a few hours. The 2005 Blanc pours a deep straw color with medium+ viscosity. On the nose, the wine is developing with powerful notes of ripe and tart orchard fruit: grapefruit, Meyer lemon, verbena, crème brûlée, honeysuckle, some pyrazines, a touch grassy, and warm wet rocky earth. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose where the fruit comes across a touch more round (vintage playing role) but the acid is definitely giving more than adequate lift. The finish is long. The texture is viscous. Drink now through 2035. — a year ago

Daron Watson

9.3

“Ana’s-Cëtta” is the white #Nascetta wine by @elviocogno who helped bring the variety back from near extinction in the 1990s in the commune of Novello, #Langhe, #Piedmont.

The 2022 delivers aromas of honeysuckle, white peach, verbena and Mediterranean herbs. Apple, pear, quince and pineapple flavors then come into play. This quickly followed by a waxy texture, balanced by lime zest, with notions of crushed minerals on the finish.

The winery suggests it is “ideal as an accompaniment to vegetable dishes, white meats, raw fish, oysters and creamy cheeses.” Maybe not as ideal, but paired with rigatoni, sausage and fennel allowed some contrast to expose and heighten many of the sensations…BRAVO! — 2 years ago

Brendan Baker

9.4

White flowers, lemon verbena, underripe peach, sea spray and iodine, intense and long ⚡️😍👌👌👌 — 4 years ago

Hilary McCown

9.5

Faint matchstick, flinty, salinity, and verbena aromas.
Same on palate, with added lemon notes and medium+ acidity. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

@Plate & Bottle Dinner

Dessert Course, Warm Berry Cobbler, House Made Vanilla, Lemon Verbena Ice Cream.

Amazing dessert. Pairing the cobbler with the Ruinart Rosé and the Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve as well. Both good/appropriate for the dual aspects of the cobbler.

Dessert has blackberries and raspberries with lemon and crumble on top (tiny bit of cinnamon) and vanilla lemon verbena ice cream. There are flavors here that call for Rosé & Blanc de Blanc Champange.

Photos of, the dinner & our friends Jeff & Hedy beautiful backyard. — 7 years ago

Jordan Wardlaw

9.1

Such wonderful finesse going on here. Like silk on the palate. Bright citrus blossoms and lemon verbena, ripe peach, kiwi and a hint of mushroom. Very saline on the back with excellent length. Superb value from Meursault and Pugliny. — 7 years ago

Keith M

8.9

上品な味わいの甘さと、甘草のような香りの甘さ。両方の甘さが特徴的。
割とタンニンもしっかりあって、ブルネロらしい大粒なブドウのニュアンスがある。
ただ、やはりここのロッソディモンタルチーノの質感には及ばないが、それでもいいワイン。 — 7 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

8.9

‘Reserva’! Good sunflower oil color to it. Aroma of lemon peels and lemon verbena. Hint of Pinesol? Flavors are excellent. Pineapple without the sugar. Lemon peels without the bite and grass without the itch. A bit of grapefruit too. This is a lovely Sauv Blanc for a steal. — 2 years ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2023 “Date Night…” Sauvignon Blanc is made more in the Sancerre style than the Bordeaux Blanc style. It’s bursting with grapefruit and verbena; herbal and grassy. There is some lovely acid and minerals too. This is a very strong example of this style in a New World way. Drink now. — 2 years ago

Delectable Wine

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9.3

The 2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Les Vieilles Roussanne was matured for 9 months in a combination of old and new oak barriques. It offers pronounced aromas of spring blossom, quince, yellow apple, candied pear, lemon peel and verbena tea. On the palate this 2020 white is medium to full-bodied and framed by soft acidity. Shimmering in a deep-straw color, it ends with a bright finish. (Nicolas Greinacher, Vinous, June 2023) — 3 years ago

Jay Kline

9.1

This was presented to me at Tasting Group; double-blind. The wine appears a bright straw, nearing light golden color with a silvery, watery rim; medium+ viscosity. No signs of gas. On the nose, it reminds me of the lime tree we used to have in our backyard in Southern California. There’s also some lemon verbena, citrus blossom, and minerals…though hard to pinpoint what kind. On the palate, more of the same with lemon/lime citrus and minerals which are more chalky now. Acid is medium++. Long finish. I thought this leaned more towards its structure so I was in the Old World. Possible varieties being Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay with possibly places of origin being Germany or France. I was leaning towards Rielsing but then I smelled my empty glass and there it was, the slightest touch of French oak. So I called 2018 Chablis 1er Cru, “Vaillons”. I’m not beating myself up too much for missing the vineyard 😜 — 4 years ago

David Kline

9.2

Lime, lemongrass and sweet grass-cucumber,, baked lemon and phenomenal white pepper nose. Creamy lemon, lime zest, extra virgin on lemon verbena, lemon oil, and an ever burgeoning creaminess. #julestaylor #julestaylorsauvignonblanc #julestaylorOTQ #otq #nz #nzsauvignonblanc #marlboroughsauvignonblanc #nzsauvblanc #sauvblanc #nzsb #singlevineyard — 6 years ago

with Courtney

James Gourley

9.1

Fruitier than most NZ sav blancs. Lemon verbena, peach nectar, and hints of the NZ grassiness. — 7 years ago

Richard Rosensweig

9.0

Lemon drop, verbena and honey non-vintage surprise from Sylvain Bock. Virtually unoaked Chard and Grenache Blanc from the Rhône Valley is a winning combination. Biodynamic methods keep this one very fresh. — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

The more I have of this Cuvée, the more I like it.

The nose reveals; lemon parfait, lemon meringue, golden apple with green apple that layers underneath it, grapefruit, fresh pineapple, honeysuckle, marzipan, cream, toast, caramel, hints of ginger, sea shells, verbena, soft chalkiness, yellow lilies, fruit blossoms and spring flowers.

The body is soft, rich, creamy mousse and lively in the mouth. The palate is lemon sorbet, lime zest, honeysuckle, pineapple, verbena, golden apple, some green apple, caramel, light spice that brings some palate heat, toast, hints of ginger, marzipan, silvered almond, brioche, beautiful nice chalkiness, sea spray, grey volcanic minerals that penetrate into your palate, yellow lilies, fruit blossoms and spring flowers. The acidy is very nice...well executed, the long, rich, balanced finish is quite enjoyable and persists on the palate for minutes.

Photos of, the Champagne House of Laurent-Perrier, their tasting bar, retail shop and beautifully manicured Grand Cru Vineyard. — 7 years ago