2021 SENS3S Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
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The 2021 Chardonnay (Russian River Valley) is bright and nicely focused. Tangerine peel, mint, white flowers and white pepper lend brightness. This is an especially nervy style for the Russian River, but it works. Drink this understated Chardonnay over the next handful of years.
Critic scores
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Brightly golden-hued, the 2021 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is vibrant with aromas of lime leaf, flint, green pineapple, and citrus blossoms. This medium-bodied white has a fantastic silky texture, with a linear feel and notes of white peach, lemon pith, and a well-balanced touch of almond and smoky earth that round out the finish. It’s elegant and long on the palate, with a clean lift of fresh acidity. Drink 2024-2032. Founded by three childhood friends, Christopher Strieter, Max Thieriot, and Myles Lawrence-Briggs, Senses Wines has their estate holdings in the West Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley appellations. With their esteemed winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, they are producing some exceptional Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. They have slowly and steadily expanded their production from just 600 cases in 2012 to approximately 5000 cases today. 2021 marks the first release for their production of the Kanzler Vineyard as well as the first leaf of their estate holding of Bodega Theriot, a wine that proves you do not always need old vines to produce stunning wines – it was by far my favorite wine of the vintage from this team. Though it was technically the second leaf for the Bodega Theriot Vineyard, this site, unfortunately, was affected by the smoke of 2020, so they did not produce the wine the previous year. I highly encourage any followers of Thomas Rivers Brown to seek these wines out.