2016 Chardonnay Soberanes Vineyard

This Santa Rosa-based Pinot Noir and Chardonnay specialist has been producing intensely perfumed and flavored, graceful wines from their own 40-acre vineyard at the western end of the Anderson Valley as well as sourcing from some of the top sites in Sonoma Coast and the Santa Lucia Highlands since 2003. In spite of a slew of consistently top-notch wines over the years, this winery still flies under many California Pinot fans’ radar, which is puzzling to me. I also like their policy of releasing on the late side, to allow them to acquire a bit of bottle age. They handled the 2017 vintage with aplomb, producing concentrated yet lively wines that don’t suggest to me that they come from a hot year. The 2016s are at a similar quality level, if a bit less powerful.