2016 Big Bend Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 750 ml

Kosta Browne Alum’s Value-Priced, Top Vintage Chardonnay

We discovered Big Bend Chardonnay through one of our favorite stops on the Sonoma wine trail: the historic Swiss Hotel, a family-run, picturesque restaurant and inn established in the late 1800s. We never miss the grilled mushroom polenta or a chance to chat with The Swiss Hotel’s owner, the gregarious Hank Marioni, who put us on to Big Bend proprietor Roger Roessler and his star winemaker Drew Huffine, formerly of Kosta Brown and Tuck Beckstoffer.

Today’s offer is an insider bottling: The 2016 Big Bend Chardonnay is a tasting room-only white that defines delicacy and grace, infused with Sonoma’s riveting energy. And it’s an incredible value. From the harvest that Antonio Galloni called “one of the most consistently brilliant and alluring young vintages I have ever tasted in Sonoma,” comes this lush, honeysuckle-infused cellar-stuffer. 

Even before the tremendous 2015 vintage occurred, things were stacked in Big Bend’s favor. After all, winemaker Drew Huffine, who in addition to his work at Kosta Browne and Tuck Beckstoffer, also cut his teeth at DuMol, Auteur, and Donum, has honed his chops and has a real vision for Sonoma Chardonnay that stresses lightness and balletic grace over heaviness and alcohol.

Big Bend’s grapes are hand-harvested from a site in the Petaluma Gap, which contributes bright acid complexity and is combined with grapes from the Russian River Valley’s Western edge, lending lush ripeness and exotic fruit. The whole package is a remarkably bright and lifted Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.

As for the 2016 growing season itself, it was hailed as “fabulous” by Vinous’s Antonio Galloni, and perfect “for making wines endowed with energy, freshness, and delineation that provide a striking foil to California’s natural radiance.” Growing conditions were even and moderate, allowing for long, slow ripening, aided further by cool weather at summer’s end. Grapes were brought to the peak of maturity and richness, while still packed with scintillating acidity.

Normally reserved for tasting room guests who make the trek deep into Sonoma’s wild hills, today’s chance at the Big Bend is an opportunity to drink the best of Sonoma without putting even a slight dent in your wallet.