Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay 2022

What a refined and expressive 2022 Rombauer Chardonnay that isn’t even remotely styled in the over-the-top richness that public opinion would suggest. In short, get a bottle and be humbled if you think this is a butter bomb — because it’s not. Candied ginger and lemon peel aromatics with elegant baking spices. Round and warm on the palate with grip and expressive acidity, and attractive ginger and salted lemon peel notes. Enjoy this wine now for its youthful exuberance and refreshing acidity, or hold it for a few years and revel in the warming, rich character that will emerge, but above all, please make your best roast chicken ala Julia Child and live life to its fullest on that night – 100% Chardonnay aged 9 months in American and French oak barrels (30% new). Drinking window: 2024-2028. Score – 92. (Jonathan Cristaldi, decanter.com, Dec. 14, 2023)