Award-Winning Chardonnay in Sonoma
Chardonnay is the top white wine grape by acreage in Sonoma County. In 2021, over 66,000 tons of Chardonnay grapes were crushed for wine production in Sonoma, dwarfing the tally for Pinot Noir (about 48,000 tons).
You might not love it — though you probably do if you’re reading this — but Chardonnay’s popularity is a classic example of the market responding to demand. Chardonnay is a super-popular varietal, so it’s no surprise that Sonoma winemakers (and winemakers in other regions with favorable Chardonnay-growing conditions) plant so much of it.
Some Sonoma Chardonnays are truly exceptional. The notorious 1976 blind tasting now known as “the Judgment of Paris” marked a watershed for the region’s production when a panel of top French tasters picked Napa-based Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay — made largely from Sonoma Chardonnay grapes — over entries from some of France’s most prestigious vineyards.
In hindsight, the Judgment of Paris was just the beginning. Sonoma Chardonnays continue to receive accolades and awards today, including several of our very own vintages here at Roche Winery. If you’re a Chardonnay fan, you must try a few.
These Award-Winning Wineries Make Amazing Chardonnay in Sonoma
These wineries make some of the finest Chardonnay in Sonoma, and they’ve recently won awards for their efforts. We invite you to try them — starting with our own, of course!
Roche Winery
Our founders, Joseph and Genevieve Roche, didn’t set out to make us a “Chardonnay winery.” They had loftier ambitions than that. But they knew Chardonnay grew well in the lower Sonoma Valley, so that’s what they planted first back in the early 1980s (along with Pinot Noir).
Today, even as we have many other varietals earning accolades, our pedigree still shines through. Numerous Roche Chardonnays have earned prestigious wine awards over the years.
Where to start? Why not with double gold medals in the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition:
2020 Roche Carneros Chardonnay
2020 Roche Carneros American Oak Reserve Chardonnay
No fewer than nine of our Chardonnays won medals or “best in show” awards in successive North Coast Wine Challenge events:
2020 Roche Carneros Chardonnay (bronze)
2020 Roche Carneros French Oak Reserve Chardonnay (gold)
2020 Roche Carneros American Oak Reserve Chardonnay (double gold)
2019 Roche Carneros Chardonnay (silver)
2019 Roche Carneros French Oak Reserve Chardonnay (double gold)
2019 Roche Carneros American Oak Reserve Chardonnay (gold)
2018 Roche Carneros Chardonnay (gold)
2018 Roche Carneros French Oak Reserve Chardonnay (silver)
2018 Roche Carneros American Oak Reserve Chardonnay (gold)
Going back a bit farther, our 2009 Stainless Steel Chardonnay won “2010 Editor’s Choice” from Wine Enthusiast magazine. And we had at least one Chardonnay win a medal or award at every San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition between 2006 and 2023 — that’s 18 years running.
So: Wine experts agree our Chardonnays are pretty special. And so do countless Roche guests and wine club members. If you’d like to experience them for yourself, we invite you to book a tasting (or simply walk in) at our main production facility outside Sonoma or our downtown Sonoma tasting room.
Where: Main production facility, 22097A Bonness Road, Sonoma; downtown tasting room, 122 Spain St, Sonoma
Hours: Main production facility, daily, 10:30am - 5:00pm; downtown tasting room, 11am - 6pm
DuMOL Winery
What began as a three-person side project in the mid-1990s has evolved into one of greater Sonoma’s most respected wineries. And though the lion’s share of DuMOL’s critical acclaim focuses on its red varietals — particularly Pinot Noir — their long-underrated Chardonnays are finally getting the attention they deserve from serious wine critics.
2020 was a particularly good year for DuMOL Chardonnay. If you make it up to their Windsor tasting room, try the Chloe, Hyde Vineyard, and Estate Vineyard (all 2020 vintages).
Where: 1400 American Way, Windsor
Hours: Daily, 10:30am - 3pm
Rochioli Vineyards and Winery
Richioli’s vineyards cover some 130 planted acres in a beautiful crook of the Russian River near Healdsburg. They'd be well worth the trip up even if they didn’t produce exceptional wines.
But they made this list, so of course they do. Richioli-produced Chardonnays have won numerous accolades over the years, including a string of 95-point (or better) ratings from some of the wine world’s top critics:
2018 Estate Chardonnay (96 points, Wine Spectator)
2019 Little Hill Chardonnay (95 points, Jeb Dunnuck and Antonio Galloni)
2019 Rachel’s Vineyard Chardonnay (95 points, Antonio Galloni)
2018 Rachel’s Vineyard Chardonnay (96 points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate; 95 points, Antonio Galloni)
2019 River Block Chardonnay (95 points, Jeb Dunnuck)
2014 Sweetwater Chardonnay (96 points, Wine Enthusiast and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate)
Where: 6192 Westside Road, Healdsburg
Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 10am to 4pm
Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Unlike some Sonoma wineries, Gundlach Bundschu doesn’t specialize in a particular style or varietal. That’s part of their appeal: variety and consistency in the same package.
They’ve made some fantastic Chardonnays over the years, however. The latest is their 2019 Gundlach Bundschu Chardonnay, which earned 92 points from Wine & Spirits and 90 points from Wine Enthusiast.
Where: 2000 Denmark Street, Sonoma
Hours: Daily, 11:30am to 4:30pm
LaRue Wines
One of our lower Sonoma neighbors, LaRue specializes in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It has won numerous accolades for the former, including:
2019 H. Klopp Vineyard Chardonnay: 93 points from Wine Advocate, 94 points from Wine Enthusiast
2016 Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay: 95 points from Wine Enthusiast and International Wine Report
2017 Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay: 94 points from Wine Enthusiast, International Wine Report, and Antonio Galloni
2018 Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay: 94 points from Wine Enthusiast and International Wine Report
Where: 60 Bonneau Road, Sonoma
Hours: Daily, 10am to 5pm
Larson Family Winery
Larson Family Winery has won awards for several different varietals since 2015: Pinot Noir, Rose Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo among them. But its standout 2018 Chardonnay is something special.
The judges at the 2021 Sonoma County Harvest Fair agreed. They gave it a gold medal.
Where: 23355 Millerick Road, Sonoma
Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 11am to 5pm