By Bruce Neyers

Wednesday 16th August, 2023

I’ve enjoyed reading ‘Tasting Panel Magazine’ since it was first published. The July 2023 issue includes a valuable piece written by MS Laura DePasquale, with tasting notes by Editor-in-Chief Meredith May. They both do much to explain these two bottlings of Chardonnay at Neyers Vineyards. Here are their comments:

There are differences between oaked and unoaked expressions from this iconic winery, but the common thread of racy acidity and freshness is remarkable.

Neyers 2021 Chardonnay 304, Sonoma County
No oak here! Offering up lemon sorbet and a wave of crisp pear ignited by white pepper, this Chardonnay has a lightness of being that complements its edgy, Old World persona. The grapes were sourced from the small, rocky Paul Larson vineyard in Carneros near San Pablo Bay, and blended with fruit from the Trinchero family’s Russian River estate. Planted in 1994 to Wente selection Chardonnay, Paul Larson’s is a low-yielding site battered by cooling winds, and typically harvested in late October. The grapes are picked at night, and gently crushed on a Champagne cycle in a pneumatic press, then transferred to stainless steel, where the wine remains from native yeast fermentation to bottling. Malolactic fermentation is inhibited after primary, and it ages on its fine lees.
93 POINTS

Neyers 2020 Chardonnay Carneros District Sonoma County
Aged in 30% new French oak on the lees with no stirring, this wine opens with piquant notes of spiced mango, almond, and creamed corn before the palate broadens with peach nectar, vanilla wafer, and chamomile. The lush body is balanced by enough striking acidity to keep it bright and fresh. Grapes are sourced from three sites farmed by the Sangiacomo family, and one site by the Yamakawa family, all on the Sonoma side of the Carneros District.
94 POINTS

Here’s the link to the entire article:
https://online.fliphtml5.com/rjut/hxpg/#p=93