Wineries situated in Mendocino County tend to be overlooked by many critics and wine lovers, perhaps because they are far off the beaten tourist path. They deserve attention, however, because their wines are generally very good. Handley Cellars, one of the top wineries in the Anderson Valley, is a personal favorite of mine, and the Handley wines continually please me.
This particular Chardonnay does not come from the relatively remote Anderson Valley. It comes from Handley's own vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. (The winery also makes an estate-bottled Anderson Valley Chardonnay.) In the early 1990s, wine lovers who were also football fans used to feign distress over the fact that the vineyard owner, Ray Handley, had the same name as the beleagured coach of the New York Giants, who famously failed to fill Bill Parcells' shoes. Ray Handley the grapegrower is the father of Anderson Valley winemaker Milla Handley, and the Handley Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley has been a vineyard source for her ever since she founded the winery in 1982.
Although the relatively warm Dry Creek Valley produces some rich, substantial Chardonnays, the personality of this wine is more in tune with the sleek, refined style of cool climate Mendocino. The wine is fairly full-bodied but truly dry, with high acid crispness and lean depth. It boasts a fine, complex aroma of pear, apple, peach, and mineral notes and its flavors, similarly complex, are concentrated and well knit. A gentle veil of smoky oak covers the wine, and a small amount of oak tannin is evident on the rear palate, but the wine is hardly typical of oaked Chardonnays.
In actuality, this wine was entirely barrel-fermented in French oak, 22% of which was new. Knowing that, you might detect a creaminess of texture that comes from the barrel fermentation, and a slight nuttiness of flavor attributable to extended lees contact. These effects of oakiness are secondary to the wine's fresh fruity character, however.
This wine's complexity of aroma and flavor, concentration of fruit character, and strong length across the palate show it to be a top quality bottling that can sustain aging, although it is perfectly delightful now. It would be a terrific match with simple sauteed chicken dishes, while also being substantial enough for grilled vegetables or delicate enough for pasta with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. The back label suggests pairing this wine with Thai-inspired dishes featuring coconut milk and cilantro; for a dry Chardonnay, such a pairing would seem to be a bit of a stretch, but with the combination of acidity, freshness and subtle creaminess that this wine has, why not? Try this wine in a large glass, and don't overchill it, so that its flavors can emerge.
90 Points
