WINE REVIEW: Gehricke, 2018 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Healdsburg, CA ($32)

by Andrew Chalk

Gehricke is August Sebastiani’s project to make wines from little known vineyards in California that he considers exemplify the character of the county, in which he grew up. He now makes chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah, and zinfandel.

This chardonnay is a very well-balanced, refined expression by winemaker Alex Beloz. It reminds one of other, better-known labels that sell for twice as much. That makes this wine a very good value.

More generally, my encounters with Sonoma Country and its sub-appellations over the last year keep turning up previously unheard of examples of impressive winemaking. Despite fires and droughts, I wonder if we aren’t living through a period of transformative winemaking in this area.

Appearance: Mid-gold;

Nose: Pineapple, ripe apples, Mayer lemon, vanilla, cream soda;

Palate: Bright acid, assertive phenolic backbone, intense pineapple flavors.

Sample