Freddy R. Troya

9.2

The Calling “Dutton Ranch” Chardonnay 2023
Russian River Valley AVA, Sonoma County, California – USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A very expressive and generously styled Chardonnay sourced from the legendary Dutton Ranch vineyards, one of Sonoma’s most respected grower sites. The Calling crafts this bottling with a fruit-driven and naturally energetic personality, allowing the vineyard character to shine through without excessive winemaking manipulation. A Russian River Chardonnay that leans vibrant and mouthwatering rather than overly buttery or heavy.

Aromas & Flavors
Juicy tangerine, lemon curd, Honeycrisp apple, and ripe pear immediately jump from the glass. As the wine opens, layers of lemon verbena, ginger, citrus zest, jasmine, and subtle green tea nuances begin to unfold, adding complexity and freshness to the profile.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied with a rounded yet energetic texture. Bright acidity keeps the wine lively and refreshing while the fruit concentration gives it a generous California richness. The finish is persistent, citrus-driven, and beautifully mouthwatering.

Food Pairings
Excellent with roasted chicken, buttery seafood dishes, crab cakes, grilled salmon, creamy risotto, or triple cream cheeses.

Verdict
A compelling Russian River Chardonnay that balances generosity and freshness extremely well. The Dutton Ranch fruit gives this wine a very polished and expressive character while still maintaining tension and precision. Rich enough for California Chardonnay lovers, yet vibrant enough to remain highly approachable.

Did You Know?
Dutton Ranch is one of Sonoma’s most iconic multigenerational vineyard sources, supplying grapes to numerous top-tier California producers. Their cool-climate Russian River fruit is especially prized for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thanks to the region’s fog influence and long growing season.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is the type of Chardonnay that reminds you why Russian River Valley became world famous for the style in the first place. Expressive, mouthwatering, and dangerously easy to revisit glass after glass. Cheers! — 17 hours ago

romo

9.3

Balanced herbs and fruit shine with bay leaf. Still a lot of power. — 8 months ago

Jenn Ingle

9.5

Wow! Delicate bubbles let the chard and Pinot noir shine through. A bit of vanilla and bright lemon and brioche. Not too dry and a lovely bright mouth feel. Fantastic! — 2 years ago

Wulf Losee

9.0

Shoe leather on the nose. Red fruit on the front. Light tannic structure. Not much body. What body there is fades on the end. Short finish. Except for the slight scent of mouldy shoe leather on the nose, there’s nothing objectionable about this wine, but it’s weak and watery and without much character. Meh. But wait!…

I left the remainder in the bottle, and 24 hours later it had developed quite nicely. The nose had developed into unripe cherries—losing the moldy leather smell. Red fruit developed on the front, and the tannic structure improved. And it developed a longer finish. I upped my rating from an 8.6 to 9.0.

— a month ago

Steven Heydemann

9.2

2016. Delicious. Needs a good decant to shine. — 5 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy Heavenly Birthday Sofia! Love & Miss You Like Air! 😇 All Souls Day as well.

Williams Selyem if not her favorite producer, one of her top two.

I don’t believe I have opened a bad bottle of this producer, not even corked. I guess it’s because I wait ten yrs or longer to open. These shine later in their evolution.

Nose of; red & slightly candied florals, strawberries, dark cherries blackberries, raspberries and haunting blueberries. Lightly grilled meats, cola, sandalwood, baking spices and very soft herbaceous notes.

This in typical WS fashion shows ripe & lush; slightly sour, dark cherries, blackberries, plum, poached strawberries, raspberries, pomegranate and circling blueberries. Excellent mid, dark spices, clove, some nutmeg, cinnamon & vanillin, light dryish tobacco, lightly grilled, smoked meats, dry crushed rocks, limestone marl, dry river stone, underbrush, mix of some fresh but mostly dry herbs, eucalyptus/mint, fresh to withering dark, red flowers framed in liquid violets, near perfect acidity with a well balanced, nicely structured, good tensioned finish that lasts nearly two-minutes and lands on spice & dry earthiness. — 7 months ago

Andrew McIntyre

9.4

This was a very fun experiment. I bought this for 149€ due to the 2013 vintage being terrible. Would this be a waste of money or a bargin? It was a bargin. Classic high end Bordeaux nose with complexity and flavour. Lots of mint. Tailed off quite quickly but still so much to enjoy. The art of wine making should shine through on "off" years as all of the producers make excellent wines in a 09 or 10 vintage. Will definately buy more!
Paired with cod, beans and chorizo — 4 months ago

David Koenen

9.5

Liquorice, shoe polish, black cherry, ripe, dark fruit, tannins are fresh with citrus acid and bitters, clean and in the prime of its life. Rich, wide, balanced and deliciously a point. — 6 months ago

Audrey Irvine

9.3

Wine Shoe 2025 May — a year ago

Ron Siegel

9.4

Is there a better SJ on the planet? This had a shoe polish, glycerin note with a silky, elegant texture showing black cherry, raspberry, black olive, sweet & savory spices, graphite & violets. — 2 years ago