This lovely Chardonnay is made by Susie Bynum, who California wine lovers might recognize as being the daughter of Davis Bynum, one of the very first vintners to "crack the code" of how to make top-class, Burgundian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Sonoma. She's been working in wine since the age of 11- when she began doing odd jobs around her dad's winery- and is now recognized as being a great winegrower in her own right, making subtle, balanced and elegant wines in both the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast AVAs.
This is exactly what we expect from Sonoma Coast Chardonnay: a seamless, nothing-out-of-place experience in which understated fruit aromas and flavors exist in tension with elevated (but not excessive) acidity, complicated by the merest hint of oak. I've often thought that the best Sonoma Chardonnay resembles top Macon Chardonnay...with the catch being that you can still score the odd great Macon for under $20, while the price of Sonoma Chardonnay has gone parabolic. Superb!