Walt Bob's Ranch Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2017

Walt Bob's Ranch Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2017

During our Gala Family Christmas celebration wine dinner, we opened three white wines to accompany the medallions of lobster including a Hall Sauvignon Blanc and this Walt, Bob's Ranch Chardonnay. Alec brought this bottle as part of relocating his cellar from Manhattan to Chicago. Walt is another brand and label of Hall wines, named for vintner proprietor Kathryn Walt Hall's family. Her parents Bob and Dolores Walt first purchased a vineyard in Northern California and were dedicated grape growers in Mendocino County since 1972.  

The Walts acquired more land and grew production to grow six different varietals that they sold to several notable wineries including Fetzer, Parducci and Beringer. 

Kathryn and her brother managed the family vineyard from 1982 to 1992, selling grapes to other wineries, as well as producing Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon under the WALT Vineyards label. 

The Walt family owns 63 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in the Redwood Valley. Walt Wines produce varietal wines Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rosé sourced from estate (family owned) vineyards in five Appellations of Sonoma County, Anderson Valley, Central Coast, Carneros and Willamette Valley in Oregon.

After her stewardship as United States Ambassador to Austria from 1997 to July 2001, Kathryn returned to America and resumed her role as proprietor of HALL Wines along with her husband Craig. Continuing her family tradition, she maintains a strong emotional attachment to vineyards, wine and the wine country. 

We were introduced to Walt wines when we tasted a Walt Pinot Noir at the Kathryn Hall Cabernet regional release tour in Chicago. That was a vineyard designated select label from Bob's Ranch vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. 

We also tasted a Walt Chardonnay that was designated Sonoma Coast, where the rear label cited Bob's Ranch Vineyard as one of the sources for the bottling, a blend from numerous sources from the area.

This Walt Chardonnay is a single vineyard designated label from the Bob’s Ranch Estate Vineyard near the Pacific Ocean in the Sonoma Coast Appellation. There the coastal breezes along with low rolling hills and morning fog define this cool climate site. Heavy fog and the strong Petaluma Wind Gap winds tempered by bright afternoon sunshine  creates a unique micro-climate within the appellation, producing a distinctive terroir for Burgundian varietals Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 

The vineyard consists of 43 Vineyard Blocks on 72 Acres of sandy, well-draining soils in the low rolling hills along the coast. 

Winemakers notes for the 2018 release also represent this tasting, "Vibrant color with a green tinge, this wine has complex aromas of orchard fruit, toasted hazelnut, lightly toasted grain, and freshly struck flint. The palate brings layers of bright fruit coupled with a creamy texture and beautiful bright acidity. The Old Wente field selection’s naturally low yields and unique cluster shape bring and energy and concentration to the mid-palate. Perfectly balanced oak adds length and depth to the finish and tames a bit of the lively minerality inherent to this special vineyard site."

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