2015 Evoluna Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 750 ml

“You’re Going to Fall in Love With These Wines”

Importer extraordinaire Kimberly Jones and Burgundy blue-blood Jean-Charles Boisset have teamed up to create what is undoubtedly one of the wine world’s most exciting collaborations. This scintillating Sonoma Chardonnay shows off their exceptional joint pedigree, snagging 92 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, which reported that the wine “explodes with vibrant pineapple and pink grapefruit notes with an undercurrent of ripe apricots, brioche and ginger plus a waft of honeycomb.” Jones, praised by Parker for her “incredible talent,” oversees a sterling client list stocked with some of California’s most elite estates: Blankiet, Hourglass, Scarecrow. Boisset is Côte de Nuits royalty, and his family’s holdings including some of Burgundy’s most illustrious properties. Their combined prowess has made for a line of wines that is “superbly crafted at each price level,” says Wine Advocate. “You’re going to fall in love with these wines.” A scant 1,500 cases were produced, and we’ve got 200 of them at $29.99 per bottle.

Jones is famed across Napa for her unerring taste and prophetic vision, while Boisset owns a number of acclaimed California wineries, each marked by his Burgundian Midas touch including: the biodynamically farmed Raymond Vineyards and historic Buena Vista Winery. So the two were perfectly positioned to snap up fruit from some of the greatest vineyards around Sonoma. Those connections were essential in the 2015 growing season, as the region gave way to a historically low-yield harvest, with production down 30% to 50% in some areas.

Budbreak came early, following long-awaited February rains that broke a three-year drought cycle. Uneven weather and a cold spring complicated flowering, driving down yields severely. But by summer, temperatures were ticking back up into the 90s during the afternoon in September, before dropping into the 50s after nightfall. The resulting immense concentration in the Chardonnay grapes infused this wine with its sumptuous power and complexity, making it one of our favorite picks of the Sonoma vintage.