Wayfarer, Wayfarer Chardonnay, Fort Ross-Seaview

pear, lemon and rich mouth feel

2015 vintage

Bottle seems off

2016 vintage

Second bottle on the same night. Consistent

2016 vintage

I sought out older vintages after having a great tasting of its 2021 vintage recently (see separate notes) and drank side by side with 2015 Aubert Eastside and 2016 Aubert CIX chardonnays. The bouquet of mandarin clementine coupled with lemon oil reminded me drinking Aubert Ritchie chardonnay. This is a great burgundian chardonnay on California steroid :) with great white fruit notes while retaining the structure even after 7 years. I couldn't wait to try it again at year 10! …

2016 vintage

Had this wine stored in an offsite location, so I'd never opened one. Pop and pour and singing right from go. Lovely clear golden color in the glass with loads of orchard fruit on the nose. A deft use of oak, but it is certainly present. Palate includes butterscotch, almond and lemon oil. What gorgeous bottle of wine.

2016 vintage

Excellent Chard. Has everything, bright fruit, slightly rich, beautiful color and long finish.

2016 vintage

Holding up brilliantly

2015 vintage

Very nice. Fruit is starting to diminish.

2016 vintage

Drinking beautifully. A CA chardonnay that is keeping CA in mind (and on the palate) while holding a Burgundian style. Very nice to drink by itself and with food.

2015 vintage

Beautiful expression of Chardonnay, very Burgundian, apples, lemons, hints of vanilla, elegant, structured, long finish

2016 vintage

“Cotton candy”, Oakes pears

2016 vintage

I really enjoyed this wine. In terms of style, it falls between an oaky chardonnay and one done in stainless steel. It had a rich texture without the heavy maloactic flavors. It had a nice acidic presence without being too tart or light. It definitely improved after about 4 hours of opening.

2016 vintage

Perfect now with a Burgundian style- benefitted a lot from some air- maybe an hr or bit less - I love their pinots but this was as good!

2015 vintage

Slightly disappointed but solid wine.

2016 vintage

Drinking very well. Citrus & honey. It got better after an hour, showing more weight, complexity and minerality like a burgundy.

2015 vintage

Very nice. Great balance. Very subtle oak.

2016 vintage

Great balance with pear, apple and fabulous rich finish

2015 vintage

This round and tense Chardonnay is drinking well at the moment, with more generosity than this wine has shown in earlier vintages. Light yellow in color; medium in body; nose of Meyer lemon, ocean air, and almond extract. Tastes of orange marmalade, cantaloupe, lemon curd, and grapefruit, with a lively and nervy finish that is coated with a pleasing layer of oaky creaminess (not too much for this taster, for what it's worth). 14.4% alcohol. All that said, the Wayfarer …

2016 vintage

The best white wine Ive ever had. Drank at Kochi.

2016 vintage

Full but bright. Melon, cream and spice notes. This is really nice stuff, but I’m not quite seeing the 97-98 point professional scores. But I’ll take a 92 any day. I have one more to hold a few years.

2016 vintage

Outstanding Chardonnay. Crisp, bright, great tasting wine. Loved it!!

2015 vintage

The end of Summer lies just off in the near future, temps are coming down to tolerable levels (at least here in Chicago) and soon the cold Winter months will bring cooler, no colder, temps that will help awaken our desire for those big bold and lush reds that we crave. At least that’s the way I see it! That’s why I’ve been reviewing an inordinate amount of white wines recently. This post is no exception. Like the wine itself; …

2015 vintage

Needs 2 hours open to fatten/round itself up. Sweet stone fruit, lemon bar, and salinity. Much improved from a year ago.

2015 vintage

‘An anomaly in CA.’ ? Not quite apparent how, but... 100% Malo. Oak and cherrio to the nose. Tree fruited aroma. Light on it’s feet. Not buttery. Has a burnished wood note on the palate.

2016 vintage

Lisa's Big Birthday with Very Good Wine (Riverwoods, IL) : Tasted double blind. Ripe stone fruit comes across as fleshy, just slightly flat and missing brightness on finish. Good weight, jsut best to enjoy young.

2015 vintage

tasted like a very good meursault...Not much oak....for the price it was great

2016 vintage

Plum Market Spring Wine Extravaganza (Chicago, IL) : Saline on the nose, with some riper fruit. The palate is large-scaled, with some of the salinity as well, but then there's some unpleasant oakiness on the back end. It's not overdone, but it's enough for me to find it distracting.

2015 vintage

Nice...a bit more oak than I like but not too much.

2016 vintage

Great balance with pear, green apple and slight butter in the mid palate

2015 vintage

Well crafted Chardonnay, restrained with good texture, crisp. Definitely some oak on the finish, to be fair it’s young. I like this wine, but can get some pretty solid Burgundy for a comparable price so it would be tough to justify a re-buy. Then again, maybe in a decade will try an old bottle of this and wish I had laid some down. *** After an hour in the glass, more weight and persistence. Loads of marzipan. More worthy of …

2015 vintage

Butter, peach tending to tropical fruit, plenty of oak, very butterscotch with ripe fruit and fresh oak on the palate. A little non-intrusive alcoholic warmth. It's quite soft with plenty of sweet spice. Very American but, for me, not very Sonoma.

2016 vintage

Dream Big - California Wine Tasting (Stockholm, Sweden) : Magical citrusbutterscotch with mango and lime zest. I think this one has a very promising future.

2016 vintage

Always wonderful.

2015 vintage

Golden hue. Milky bread aromas that give way to nuttiness with some air. Big on the palate, a bit of alcoholic heat that, again, somewhat resolved with air. Citrus zest, cedar, a bit of a pruny aftertaste. Unctuous. Friend said it tasted like a pinot--hard to disagree.

2015 vintage

This is my favorite Wayfarer Chardonnay to date, with a little more creamy and nutty texture to go with the lean fruit and bright acidity that this site seems to provide. If I had to pick, I would go with the Cattleya RRV Chardonnay from Bibiana Gonzalez Rave (up until recently, Wayfarer's winemaker) - just as lean, with even more fullness - but this is a n enjoyable wine on the leaner end of the spectrum. Light yellow in color …

2015 vintage

Very young but excellent.

2016 vintage

Minerals, light butter on the nose, medium body, light but bright fruit flavor, really good acidity. A very good wine, probably objectively better, I just think I don't love Cali chardonnay.

2015 vintage

Rich intense pear and apple notes with a lingering finish

2016 vintage

Surprisingly lemon/citrus driven and fairly reductive. After 2-3 hours open moderate amounts of denser stone fruit and toast emerge but overall remains lean. Still interesting but needs a few more years to fatten up.

2015 vintage

That is actually quite good. 100% ML, 4 clones of Chard, 6 acres on the property.

2015 vintage

West Sonoma Coast Tasting (Washington, DC) : Saline, breezy, lemons on the nose. Lovely richness on the palate but so bright as well. Peaches, lemons, almond skin, this is complex and pretty, with plenty of time ahead.

2015 vintage

Really a beautiful textural experience. Grilled lemon and tarragon present the predominant flavors but this is all about the experience.

2015 vintage

Cleaner nose, but oak definitely comes across on the palate. Has nice acidity, with some muted clove and ginger spice.

2015 vintage

Opened and allowed to come down to serving temp (this was not in the cellar prior to opening). Beautiful yellow gold in color with notes of lemon oil, floral and a hint of oak on the nose. More citrus on the palate with nice balance and finish. I think this will improve over the next year or so and hold nicely. Another excellent Wayfarer.

2015 vintage

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Wayfarer, Wayfarer Chardonnay, Fort Ross-Seaview

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