2012 Chardonnay Russian River Valley

Winemaker Shane Finley took over from previous winemaker Bibiana Gonzalez-Rave in early 2012 so this is the first set of releases that fully bear his fingerprint, from flowering to bottling. I asked him what he thinks will differentiate his wines from past Lynmars and he responded that he's looking for a little less upfront, flamboyant character, lighter toast to the barrels and more structure in the wines "but without making them strict." He started off with a great model, he said,"so it's more a matter of tweaking things than making 180-degree moves." There's a Kanzler vineyard bottling for the first time in 2012, by the way, which is fruit that Finley knows well from his Kosta-Browne days.