98pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2021 Chardonnay The Estate is delightfully decadent and almost feels like a guilty pleasure—it's so packed with flavor! It has gregarious aromatic layers of warm peach, summer honey, candied citrus and wafts of allspice. The medium-bodied palate is luxuriously satiny and features expansive, concentrated flavors. Despite its generosity, it maintains balance with bright acidity, and it has an epically long finish. 

98pts James Suckling

This is so intense and wild with Meyer lemon, Korean pear, green lemon, and lime. Piercing pineapple and focused acidity that gives incredible length and intensity. The density and texture with solid phenolics and so much flavor and vivid energy is really impressive along with the electric finish. Full body. Agile palate. Wente and Mount Eden clone. Drinkable but hold on to it!

96pts Jeb Dunnuck

Revealing a medium straw hue with youthful green highlights, the 2021 Chardonnay The Estate offers gorgeous, fresh, floral aromas of lemon curd, pastry cream, cheese rind, sweet baking spices, and ripe pear. With fresh acidity, medium body, ample ripe fruit, and a sound structure, it’s fresh and long on the palate, with well-balanced richness that also feels decadent. Drink 2024-2035.

96pts The Wine Independent

The 2021 Chardonnay The Estate soars from the glass with notes of green guava, Marcona almonds, and fresh grapefruit with touches of apricots, mandarin peel, and jasmine. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly wound with loads of chalky nuances among the stone fruit layers, supported by a racy backbone and satiny texture, finishing long and savory.

95pts Vinous

The 2021 Chardonnay Wayfarer Vineyard is brilliant. Bright, effusive and full of character, the 2021 shows why this site is so ideal for Chardonnay. Lemon peel, mint, crushed rocks, white pepper and tangerine oil all grace this exquisite, finely sculpted Chardonnay. It’s all class and pedigree here. (Drink between 2024-2031)

93pts Wine Spectator

Packs intense lemon and litsea oil aromatics up front, with a firm, crunchy note to the acidity and generous green pear, lemon, pineapple and jasmine accents on a sleek, juicy frame. Reveals smoked salt and a crisp, zesty finish, with plenty of torque.

Winery Notes

Wayfarer was founded as a secluded farmstead more than 40 years ago, before its locale was defined as the now coveted Fort Ross Seaview AVA. In 1989, Jayson Pahlmeyer's winemaker, Helen Turley, discovered the site for sale down the road from her Marcassin vineyard. She introduced Pahlmeyer, declaring it destined to become "the La Tache of California."
In tandem with his daughter Cleo and renowned winemaker Bibiana Gonzales Rave, Pahlmeyer drives to make intricate wines of transcendence, answering to powerful, ever-unpredictable climate that rewards only the most observant and meticulous. It is an endeavor of true passion, an experiment that pushes the exactitude of winegrowing and winemaking to the farthest limits.