2021 Senses Chardonnay Russian River Valley

Taking on a sunnier and riper profile, the 2021 Chardonnay Russian River Valley offers notes of orange peel, toasted spices, and poached pear. Offering more immediacy on the palate, this medium to full-bodied white has a more rounded fruit profile and a bit of pithy texture, with notes of golden yellow apple, chamomile, and a touch of bitter nuttiness on the back. It’s prime for drinking now or over the next 5-7 years. Founded by three childhood friends, Christopher Strieter, Max Thieriot, and Myles Lawrence-Briggs, Senses Wines has their estate holdings in the West Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley appellations. With their esteemed winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, they are producing some exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. They have slowly and steadily expanded their production from just 600 cases in 2012 to approximately 5000 cases today. 2021 marks the first release for their production of the Kanzler Vineyard as well as the first leaf of their estate holding of Bodega Theriot, a wine that proves you do not always need old vines to produce stunning wines – it was by far my favorite wine of the vintage from this team. Though it was technically the second leaf for the Bodega Theriot Vineyard, this site, unfortunately, was affected by the smoke of 2020, so they did not produce the wine the previous year. I highly encourage any followers of Thomas Rivers Brown to seek these wines out.