93pts James Suckling

A full-bodied, expressive wine with rich, aromatic layers, led by wild and fresh herbs, green tropical fruit and sliced Granny Smith apples. A long finish evolves from chalk to herbs to pear skin to apples to juicy yuzu. Drink now.

Tasting Notes

Our 2024 Sauvignon Blanc opens with aromas of passion fruit, honeydew melon, pineapple, guava, grapefruit, and a hint of oak. The palate offers bright acidity and beautifully interwoven flavors of lime, gooseberry, citrus, and cucumber. Minerality rounds out the wine, lingering on the elegant finish

About the Wine

Our Sauvignon Blanc captures the exotic, vibrant and complex fruit character of our estate-grown grapes. The vineyards are ideally situated to take advantage of soil changes, different aspects, and exposures to sun and wind. A small amount of Sauvignon Gris adds layers of flavor and interest to the blend. In the winery, we preserve the distinctive aromatics of the grapes by minimizing exposure to air and fermenting with carefully selected cultured yeast in a combination of stainless steel and French oak. Aging on the lees with regular stirring bring all the elements together, giving us a complete and harmonious wine.

Winery Notes

On a spring day in 1972, while piloting his plane over the Russian River, Chalk Hill founder Fred Furth caught his first view of a natural amphitheater carved into the hills of eastern Sonoma County. His intuition told him the land had the potential to support a world-class vineyard. A subsequent tour confirmed that the spectacular property indeed had the climate and soils to grow luxury-class wine grapes. Chalk Hill’s first vineyards planted on the estate include 11 acres of Chardonnay known as the Founder’s Block. Today one third of the Chalk Hill’s vines are planted to Chardonnay, with wines reflecting Chalk Hill’s signature Chardonnay style: rich yet balanced.

Chalk Hill Estate is one of the first wineries in the area to champion and make Chardonnay its flagship wine. Beginning in 1996 Chalk Hill partnered with UC Davis to conduct one of the largest and longest maintained Chardonnay clonal trials in California. After deep research through the Chardonnay trials, 17 clones were harvested separately and made, bottled, and evaluated the wines for 5 vintages – 1999-2003.  The top-6 clones were selected to replant the rest of the Estate. Today Chalk Hill is now home to 23 different clones of Chardonnay, including the proprietary “Chalk Hill Chardonnay Clone 97”.

Blend: 82% Sauvignon Blanc, 18% Sauvignon Gris