Hanzell Vineyards
Sebella Sonoma Valley Chardonnay
Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA
Surprising and impressive wine. Extremely polished, if not necessarily the most complex. Hints at what California winemakers COULD do without muddling their wines with heavy handed oak barrel fermentation, aging in new barriques, heavy Malo and the like. That is all despite very, very young vines. And yet here it stands a delicious and balanced wine at 7 years old.
I actually wonder if there is any MLF at all. The fruit is so focused and pure. Expressive Nose to me is dominated by floral notes that reminds me of puligny Montrachet, st aubin chateniere or Chablis fourchame. Like white flowers plus some element of orange blossom plus lemon verbena. Light, lifted and refreshing. Also some stony, mountain stream mineral notes The fruit is nice, clean and linear but a bit hard to pin down for me (honeydew melon? Cara cara orange? Mandarin? Also some lemon and something orchard fruit). More pithy on the palate, and much more framed by brown spice notes. Decent texture and medium bodied with with pomelo. Finishes with good medium/med + acidity and a bit of drying tannins to go with the pith.
Overall very tasty, refreshing, really well balaced. I would be hard pressed to blind taste this as a 7 year old wine with the great fruit and limited secondary characteristics. Not overly complex or contemplative, but
Pretty delicious
Surprising and impressive wine. Extremely polished, if not necessarily the most complex. Hints at what California winemakers COULD do without muddling their wines with heavy handed oak barrel fermentation, aging in new barriques, heavy Malo and the like. That is all despite very, very young vines. And yet here it stands a delicious and balanced wine at 7 years old.
I actually wonder if there is any MLF at all. The fruit is so focused and pure. Expressive Nose to me is dominated by floral notes that reminds me of puligny Montrachet, st aubin chateniere or Chablis fourchame. Like white flowers plus some element of orange blossom plus lemon verbena. Light, lifted and refreshing. Also some stony, mountain stream mineral notes The fruit is nice, clean and linear but a bit hard to pin down for me (honeydew melon? Cara cara orange? Mandarin? Also some lemon and something orchard fruit). More pithy on the palate, and much more framed by brown spice notes. Decent texture and medium bodied with with pomelo. Finishes with good medium/med + acidity and a bit of drying tannins to go with the pith.
Overall very tasty, refreshing, really well balaced. I would be hard pressed to blind taste this as a 7 year old wine with the great fruit and limited secondary characteristics. Not overly complex or contemplative, but
Pretty delicious
Balanced Chardonnay, acidity at first then Moré Oak
Balanced Chardonnay, acidity at first then Moré Oak
Jun 13th, 2018
Good balance of mineral and bright but buttery and rich. Pretty acidic.
Good balance of mineral and bright but buttery and rich. Pretty acidic.
Jan 31st, 2018
Crisp and acidic. Got better as we drank
Crisp and acidic. Got better as we drank
Jan 28th, 2018I just left this BEAuTIFUL winery with my husband and friends. (Appointments are necessary) This is really what I think of as a Chablis. It has a very balanced fruit taste to me. This char is not overly oaky like some Chardonnay can be since it was aged in neutral French oak barrels. Best of all, the price verses quality is amazing. Their Estate Chardonnay is also amazing and lays down until most Chars.
I just left this BEAuTIFUL winery with my husband and friends. (Appointments are necessary) This is really what I think of as a Chablis. It has a very balanced fruit taste to me. This char is not overly oaky like some Chardonnay can be since it was aged in neutral French oak barrels. Best of all, the price verses quality is amazing. Their Estate Chardonnay is also amazing and lays down until most Chars.
Jan 3rd, 2017
Buttery but not overwhelmingly so; crisp; good with seafood and Caprese salad.
Buttery but not overwhelmingly so; crisp; good with seafood and Caprese salad.
Oct 18th, 2016
Bachlorette fiesta. Nice body, good mix of oak & stainless steel
Bachlorette fiesta. Nice body, good mix of oak & stainless steel
Jun 8th, 2015
Winston had this 8 years ago
Winston had this 8 years ago
Feb 15th, 2016