Westwood Winery Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay 2017
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Jeb Dunnuck
The single vineyard 2017 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard comes from a site on the Sonoma Coast and was fermented and aged 8 months in 30% new French oak. It’s a more racy, salty, vibrant effort that has terrific white flowers, orange blossom, and honeyed citrus notes as well as medium to full-bodied richness. Balanced, layered, and just a great example of the rich yet racy style that’s prevalent in the vintage, it’s going to benefit from a year in bottle and I suspect have a decade of longevity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyard, barrel fermented and aged in 50% new oak, sings of honey drizzled white peaches, lemon tart, lime cordial and shaved almonds with touches of struck match, chalk dust and mandarin peel. Medium-bodied, the palate has electric citrus intensity with a lively line of freshness and bags of mineral notions on the long finish. 304 cases produced.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine is fleshy on the palate and bright in aromas of citrus and stone. Notes of pear, flint and lime provide an unctuous nature on the palate, with refreshing acidity making for a nicely balanced and memorable experience.
Other Vintages
2019-
The Somm
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Organic, Biodynamic, Sustainable
Beginning with the cleanest organic and sustainably farmed grapes coupled with the best winemakers in the world, wielding the best equipment available, Westwood wines are meant to elevate the important moments in your life. Expressive, elegant and textured, the wines are unmistakably California, but are crafted for those who appreciate an elevated experience. Reflecting two decades of work and planning, Westwood’s voice is decidedly unique - as unique as their 33 acres in Annadal Gap, Sonoma.
Westwood is a truly unique site, located in the northern end of the Sonoma Valley. The climate is on the cooler side, with the vines covered in fog of the morning, bathed in sun early afternoon, then cooled by the westerly winds off the Pacific Ocean during the afternoon. Endowed with a diverse soil composition, Westwood is able to grow a wide variety of Pinot, Syrah and Grenache clones and other rare varietals not often seen in this region. In 2014 the Estate became biodynamically certified, to preserve the health and longevity of this special site for generations ahead.
Westwood formally teamed up with Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky of Atelier Melka in 2017, world-renowned winemakers and producers of many “100-point” wines. Philippe Melka was born, educated and trained in Bordeaux and was named by the Wine Advocate as “one of the Top 10 Winemakers in the World”. On seeing our Annadel Gap vineyard, Philippe exclaimed, “Westwood has already been gaining great acclaim and attention for award-winning wines from this unique and unexpected gem of a vineyard. Looking ahead, we’re excited to unlock the soul of this special site and take the wines even higher”.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.