2014 Lawer Family Wines Chardonnay Cannon Block Knights Valley is sold out.

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  • 92 pts Wine Advocate
    92 pts RPWA
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2014 Lawer Family Wines Chardonnay Cannon Block Knights Valley 750 ml

Sold Out

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

Pitchers, Catchers, and Cary Gott’s Four-Bagger

It happens about this time every year. As pitchers and catchers pack up and leave sunny South Florida and Arizona, members begin to fill our inboxes with requests for the richly mineral, lemon-curd Chardonnays of Sonoma Coast. While a handful of high-rollers are looking for a few bottles of the $125/bottle single-vineyard bottlings from Luc Morlet, Marc Aubert, or Peter Michael, far more ask us to work our magic to secure highly rated Knights Valley Chardonnays for under $25/bottle.

Today, before the first curveball is thrown, we’re pulling a rabbit out of our hats.

Thousands of years ago, the Russian River cut through Alexander Valley before flowing through the Knights and Napa valleys and finally emptying into the Pacific near present-day Monterey. An ancient eruption of Mount Saint Helena subsequently changed the course of Russian River, pushing it west at Healdsburg and protecting Knights Valley from the chilly breezes off the ocean.

Knights Valley is the warmest AVA in Sonoma Valley, much explaining the success of Bordeaux varieties and Sauvignon Blanc. But for collectors, perhaps the most extraordinary success stories of the valley are Chardonnays born from a few small vineyards planted on prized Goldridge soils.

The superb 2014 growing season in Knights Valley featured warm summer months and no significant heat spikes, making for a sizable crop of small-berry clusters. Berries were loaded with sugar, even as acids remained firm. The Big Three — Morlet, Aubert, and Peter Michael — all reeled in 95- to 100-point scores from Parker (more on these later). But as to the drop-dead Knights Valley bargain of the vintage, it would be no contest. At neighboring Cannon Block, winemaker Cary Gott knocked it out of the park.

The 2014 Lawer Estates Chardonnay Knights Valley Cannon Block is gorgeous. Brilliant, bright yellow to the rim, infused with mouthwatering aromas of spiced apple, nectarine, and pine cones, with a faint hint of honeysuckle. Rich and weighty on the attack, filled with an unctuous mix of lemon curd, ripe citrus, poached apple, and pear, braced with stinging acidity.

Only 175 cases produced, 80 of which are earmarked for WineAccess. 92 points from Parker’s Wine Advocate. $24/bottle — from the first pitch to the pennant run.