2015 White Queen Chardonnay Sonoma County 750 ml

After spotting a gap on the wine lists of America’s finest restaurants, former sommelier Matt Ahern made it his mission to fill it. He wanted to create a dazzling Chardonnay, balanced and brilliant, sourced from high-quality fruit, yet available at an under-$30 price tag. So in 2010, he started the Wonderland Project and the “White Queen” was ordained. And true to Ahern’s mission, the 2015 White Queen Chardonnay is an energetic, complex, but vibrant white packed with terrific florals and balanced by a decadently rich palate of creamy, ripe green apples. This Chardonnay has graced coveted wine lists around the United States including San Francisco’s Michelin-starred State Bird Provisions, Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Beverly Hills, Chada Thai in Las Vegas, Husk in Nashville, and Hen of the Wood in Vermont.

Together with Scribe’s winemaker Gustavo Sotelo-Miller, Ahern makes White Queen using native yeast fermentation in stainless steel and then ages the wine in new and neutral French oak, and stainless steel barrels. This is what gives the voluptuous Chardonnay its refinement. The whimsical White Queen, evoking memories of the Alice in Wonderland fairy tale while  retaining its pristine royalty, has garnered an enviable reputation with the country’s hottest restaurants. Yet Ahren and his Wonderland Project are still only known amongst those in the know.

The grapes are sourced from organically-farmed vines grown and tended to by iconic Scribe Winery. With only 2,700 cases produced in its entirety, this is a rare opportunity to lock into the White Queen outside of a restaurant wine list.