2023 Lewis Cellars Sonoma Chardonnay Russian River Valley

Lewis Cellars is Napa royalty. Founded in 1992 by former IndyCar driver Randy Lewis and his wife Debbie, the family winery built its reputation on a simple idea: make wines that are unapologetically bold, deeply expressive, and worthy of the best table in the house.

Over three decades, they've become one of the most respected names in the valley, earning a cult following for their Cabernet, Syrah, and Chardonnay - with multiple Wine Spectator Top 100 placements along the way.

Lewis Cellars is in the same family as Justin, Wonderful Pistachios, and Fiji Water. The Wonderful Company, the group behind all three, brought Lewis into its portfolio in 2021, making it the crew's first Napa winery. Nothing changed in the cellar, though. Founder Randy Lewis, still runs the show alongside his stepson Dennis Bell.

The Chardonnay is where they leave Napa. This fruit comes off the Russian River Valley, sixty miles west of the winery.

Lewis makes a Napa Chardonnay too, and the cellar treatment is identical. Same barrels, same native yeast, same full malolactic. Only the fruit source changes.

That is the point of having both. Whatever separates these two bottles is the ground, not the winemaking.

Russian River gives this one a floral lift the Napa version does not have. Add a mineral edge and a trace of Pacific salt.

2023 gave them time. It was the longest growing season in a decade, mild and consistently sunny. Lewis did not start picking until the end of September and finished in the second week of November.

Eleven months in French oak, 65% of it new. Native yeast, full malolactic.