2020 Nancie Chardonnay

The 2020 Chardonnay Nancie is a tasty, easygoing white to drink now and over the next handful of years. Dried flowers, apricot, tangerine oil, mint and chamomile are nicely lifted in this very pretty, mid-weight Chardonnay. Attractive floral notes brighten the finish.

The pale yellow 2020 Chardonnay Nancie is flush with salted pineapple, lime blossom, and honeyed citrus. Full-bodied, it has a good core of concentration and driving citrus through the mid-palate, with ripe Meyer lemon and a touch of baking spices. Attractive and ripe, with good balance and nerve, it can be enjoyed over the next several years. Joe Donelan came to the wine world after he received what he calls “a life-changing education” from a sommelier on Nantucket in the 1980s. Today he is joined by his two sons, Tripp and Cushing, who oversee sales and marketing respectively. David Milner has been the head winemaker since 2017 after previously working at Groth and Eisele Vineyard. Donelan himself has worked with the Obsidian Vineyard in Knights Valley since 2001 and was able to purchase the site in 2015. Sadly, in 2017, the vineyard fell victim to that year’s fires, but they have since put a new emphasis on replanting with greater vine density. The style of the estate certainly does not shy away from ripeness, although they are wines with finesse and elegance. I am especially a fan of the wines they’re producing in the cooler Bennett Valley. The wines for this report were tasted at their Santa Rosa winery in May.