Dehlinger Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2017

Dehlinger Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2017

We opened this Chardonnay for dinner with ham and potatoes and haricot verts, then a day or so later for casual sipping with some artisan cheeses, crackers and jelly with olives. 

Founded in 1975 by Tom and Carol Dehlinger, it remains a family-owned and operated vineyard and winery in western Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. 

After obtaining his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in biochemistry in the late 1960s, Tom Dehlinger studied Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis when the program was just being established. After jobs at Beringer and Hanzell, he founded Dehlinger Winery in remote Sonoma County in 1975, long before it was recognized as a wine producing area.

Today, two of their daughters Carmen Dehlinger and Eva Dehlinger, oversee day-to-day operation of both the winery and the vineyard.

They have a forty five acre site planted to fourteen acres of Chardonnay, located on Vine Hill Road just north of the town of Sebastopol, west of Santa Rosa, 13 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

Dehlinger produces a single Estate Chardonnay bottling each vintage, sourced from their estate Chardonnay vines planted between 1975 and 1988. They were one of the early pioneers to plant Chardonnay in the cool climate area of western Sonoma County with the cool breezes and fog from the ocean. 

They also produce estate grown Pinot Noir from twenty five acres planted between 1975-1989, and a second site planted between 2011-2014, some Syrah from three acres of vines, and are one of the few vineyards in the coastal Russian River Valley that grows Cabernet Sauvignon, grown on four and a half acres of the variety planted in 1982 and 1983.

We toured the area during our Sonoma County Wine Experience back in 2017.

Dehlinger has been bottling its Chardonnays “Unfiltered” since the late 1990s in order to capture the full flavor potential and most pleasing texture possible. The winemaker's tasting notes refer to "Aromas of lemon custard and white peach, flavors of lime zest and toasted hazel nut. Excellent length, fresh, flavorful."

Very pleasant drinking, with its full boldness it is best with some food rather than standalone. This release got 92 points by Vinous and 91 points by Wine Spectator.

Golden colored, medium bodied,  round, rich, full, bright and expressive, Vinous describes it as 'racy and luscious', notes of citrus, apples, and hints of pear fruits with mineral and tropical sprites and lemongrass on the crisp finish. 

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=3382464

https://www.dehlingerwinery.com/