2017 FEL Chardonnay Anderson Valley 750 ml

It was a blind tasting among sommeliers that revealed to us what we already knew: Cliff Lede’s FEL Chardonnay is one of California’s singular offerings, one whose under-the-radar Anderson Valley roots are as good as the best Chardonnay regions in the New World. 

In a lineup of top-tier California Chardonnays the FEL stood way out, combining vibrant lemon zest and nectarine purity with a saline oyster shell note, plus the subtlest touch of seamlessly integrated oak. We were smitten before the label was revealed, then stuck on the 2017 FEL for days following the tasting. Luckily, after offering the 2016 release last year, we had a direct line to the source, so we were able to secure this unbeatable Chardonnay at an unbeatable price.

FEL’s owner, Cliff Lede of Lede Family Wines, knew he wanted a foothold in Anderson Valley, one of the coolest wine-growing regions in California, where star wineries like Drew, Navarro, and Handley were producing some of the most classical-style Burgundian wines on the U.S. market. He found what he was looking for in Breggo Cellars, an up-and-coming estate that had quickly become a favorite of Robert Parker’s. “I can’t recommend their wines highly enough,” Parker said, before the winery went up for sale. 

When Lede purchased the winery, he made two smart moves. He kept on consulting winemaker Ryan Hodgins, elevating him to a full-time role, and purchased the nearby Savoy Vineyard, among the most highly regarded in the region. Hodgins had come from Hanzell, the gold standard for California Chardonnay and a pioneer of fermenting in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Hodgins had absorbed the non-interventionist lessons from his mentors there and begun applying them at his new job. Parker wrote that he expected the estate, renamed FEL, to only grow better, thanks to Lede’s “commitment to world-class quality.” 

Acquiring Savoy Vineyard, which produces fruit for a roster of high-flying clients like Littorai, Auteur, Failla, Peay, and Adrian Fog, would prove another prescient decision. Savoy, one of two main sources for the 2017 FEL Chardonnay Anderson Valley, sits in the town of Philo on Highway 128, just 12 miles from the roaring Pacific Ocean. A corridor of fog and cold maritime air infuses Wente and Prosser Chardonnay clones with mouthwatering freshness and fine coastal salinity. 

Ferrington Vineyard, first made famous by the vineyard-designate offerings of Williams Selyem, is just next door to Savoy, and is the second highly acclaimed source of the FEL Chardonnay. Together, there may be no two finer sites in Anderson Valley. 

Compared to other California Chardonnays, the fruit alone gives the FEL a considerable head start. Put that together with Hodgins’s deft cellar touch—a fraction of malolactic fermentation for rich texture and 10 months sur lie aging for a hint of graham cracker—and what you get is an extraordinary expression of Chardonnay: fresh, lifted, and nuanced, crafted with the utmost precision and care from start to finish.