Master Sommelier’s Single-Site Chardonnay
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2018 BOLD Wine Company Chardonnay Sonoma County 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
Electric Chardonnay from “A Master of His Craft”
When we’re in the mood for a bright and striking Chardonnay, we look to Sonoma. And when we want a single-vineyard bottle with restaurant-coveted pedigree, we look to BOLD Wine Co. Their 2018 Chardonnay is pure, mouthwatering vibrance from a tremendous winemaking talent.
Crafted by Master Sommelier-turned-winemaker Chris Miller—who made Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Beverly Hills into a Wine Spectator Grand Award winner—the single-vineyard BOLD 2018 is electric and enticingly crisp. It draws verve and tension from the wind-swept Simpatico Ranch Vineyard, the same cool-climate site Chris harnessed for a Chardonnay under his Seabold label, which goes for $135 at Spago.
Between BOLD and Seabold, Chris translates some of the coast’s greatest vineyards into the glass with precision, focus, and honesty. He crafted just 300 total cases of this 2018 from Simpatico Ranch’s 40-year-old vines, and we hurried to grab some for Wine Access members before it inevitably draws the eye of savvy Chardonnay buyers elsewhere.
Site-specific, small-lot bottles like this have earned Chris admiration among the restaurant industry’s biggest names—he even crafted the wines for Gordon Ramsay’s namesake label. Hell’s Kitchen fans know how selective Ramsay is with his praise and how focused he is on excellence, especially when it comes to his own restaurants. So his assertion that Chris is “a master of his craft” speaks volumes about the winemaker’s immense talent.
The 2018 BOLD Chardonnay is that “master of his craft” strutting his stuff. The wine bursts with the energy and get-up-and-dance vivacity of Lizzo’s “Juice” showing spirited aromas of stone fruit and mandarin blossom, with complex notes of green apple and savory herbs. The palate channels the singer’s impressive vocal runs, powerful but perfectly controlled, sustained on a lengthy finish.
Aged on fine lees for 15 months in a mix of neutral and 10% new oak barriques, the wine maintains its crispness and cool-climate raciness, while developing polish and balance. Whether you open it alongside a seafood dinner or that book you can’t put down, it’ll disappear faster than you think.