***BOTTLING MID-JUNE, SHIPPING SHORTLY AFTER***
For those of you who love indulgent, unapologetically luxurious Chardonnay with classic purity and pedigree, it doesn’t get much better than a $50+ bottle of Russian River liquid gold for $19.
The 2025 California wine harvest was the smallest crush since 1999. Between thousands of acres of vineyards being pulled, unharvested grapes, and softening demand, a correction is certainly underway. However, owners of historic sites located in the best districts didn’t get where they are today by thinking short-term – legacy vineyards are much more than just assets on a balance sheet that you jettison after a few bad quarters. So how do they ride out the storm and, in the meantime, try to at least break even on those world-class wines sitting in their barrels? Enter yours truly…
Lot 620 is a 100% single-vineyard, estate-grown beauty from a legendary Sonoma family. Generations of viticultural wisdom are on full display in this bottle, crafted from dry-farmed old vines rooted in Goldridge soils along a chilly hillside in one of the AVA’s coldest pockets. A blue chip offering through and through, our source’s winemaker gave it the full white-glove treatment: 100% barrel fermentation, full malo, and 100% French oak aging with light lees stirring. Again, this is an unapologetically luxurious Chard that wonderfully showcases the undeniable terroir and sense of place from one of the world’s apex cool climate regions. It needed a home, and given that we’ve got a list full of wine lovers who love a deal…a price was negotiated to give everyone a satisfying outcome to the tune of OVER 65% OFF!
Our price: $119/6-pack, $19+/bottle!
When we hear that a Chardonnay has been barrel-fermented and then barrel-aged on its lees, our first instinct is to expect a heavily oaked butter bomb (not that there’s anything wrong with that). But in the right hands, barrel fermentation can produce a far more seamless oak impression than the spec sheet might suggest – active yeast and lees contact help integrate and soften oak compounds, building texture and richness without overwhelming the wine’s freshness, fruit purity, or sense of place. And these were certainly the right hands.
Pouring a luminous golden hue in the glass, this Chardonnay opens with a nose filled with spiced baked apples and warm, fresh brioche. The palate is richly textured yet composed, with layers of citrus, fresh butter, and white blossoms on entry perfectly interwoven with baking spice over a vein of river stone minerality. The finish is long and finely detailed, carrying notes of spiced apple skin and additional citrus before settling into delicate waves of vanilla blossom.
