2017 Boheme Chardonnay English Hill Vineyard

2017 Boheme Chardonnay English Hill Vineyard

2017 Boheme Chardonnay English Hill Vineyard; Sonoma, USA

The Bohème Chardonnay “English Hill” 2017 immediately grabs the nose with caramelly lemon, roast hazelnuts, bright green apple slices, freshly cut pears and a squeeze of lime. In the mouth it’s both vibrant and voluptuous with all the aforementioned aromas translating to flavors with an extra hit of caramel and apple butter.

Chardonnay is the world’s most famous white-wine grape and also one of the most widely planted. Although the most highly regarded expressions of the variety are those from Burgundy and California, many high-quality examples are made in Italy, Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America. Describing the flavors of Chardonnay is not easy. While many Chardonnay wines have high aromatic complexity, this is usually due to winemaking techniques (particularly the use of oak) rather than the variety’s intrinsic qualities. Malolactic fermentation gives distinctive buttery aromas. Fermentation and/or maturation in oak barrels contributes notes of vanilla, smoke and hints of sweet spices such as clove and cinnamon.

Sonoma Coast is one of the largest AVAs in Sonoma, California. It covers some 500,000 acres (200,000ha) of land altogether, although only a tiny portion of this is planted to vine. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate the vineyards along the Sonoma Coast, making premium wines in a range of different styles.

The AVA was created in 1987, primarily for political and commercial reasons. In the mid-1980s, the legal definition of ‘estate bottled’ was tightened in the US, restricting use of the term to wines that were grown and vinified within a single AVA. This led a number of wine companies whose vineyards were scattered all along the coastline of Sonoma County to propose an over-arching AVA, affording them continued use of the phrase. This sets Sonoma Coast apart from other AVAs in northern California, most of which were created based on geological and climatological considerations.