Rombauer Vineyards spotlight
The official Rombauer Vineyards channel's This Joyful Moment film is the house welcome behind this Carneros Chardonnay.
2024 Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay Carneros, USA
Richie Allen's Carneros Chardonnay, peach and vanilla cream held by bay acidity, a 2024 you can open at thirty-five dollars.
The 2024 is 100 percent Carneros Chardonnay: yellow peach, melon, citrus, creamy vanilla, and butter after whole-cluster press, full malolactic, and 9 months in American and French oak, now $35.
The Chardonnay that taught America butter, still with a Carneros spine
Koerner Rombauer wanted a richer California white that did not collapse. Carneros fruit, cooled by San Pablo Bay, still does that job. Whole-cluster press, barrel ferment, full malolactic, lees stirred every 7 to 10 days, 9 months in American and French oak (37 percent new). VinePair 94 heard oak, vanilla, toasted almond, and yellow apple held up by the bay. This is the bottle people actually mean when they say Rombauer.
The house
Koerner and Joan made Carneros Chardonnay a national habit. Richie Allen still stirs the lees.
The wine
Whole-cluster press, barrel ferment, full ML, 9 months oak, 37% new. 14.6% ABV.
The vintage
Classic 2024: winter rain, moderate spring, September warmth, 24.0 Brix, harvest late August into October.
The drinker
Serve 50 to 55 F. Lobster risotto or squash ravioli with brown butter.
Yellow peach and melon, then vanilla and butter
The fact sheet writes yellow peach and ripe melon with citrus, then creamy vanilla and buttery nuances, acidity balancing the soft middle. VinePair added toasted almond and yellow apple.
Winter rain, a moderate spring, September warmth, good yields. The house wanted ripeness without losing the acid that keeps this Chardonnay a dinner wine.
Yellow peach, ripe melon, citrus, vanilla, toasted almond.
Creamy mid-palate, 14.6% ABV, full ML, 9 months oak, 37% new.
Long, buttery, bright acid. Serve 50 to 55 F.
Whole-cluster press, then lees and oak for cream
On the 2024 Carneros Chardonnay fact sheet, grapes are whole-cluster pressed while still cool, cold-settled overnight, then racked to barrel for primary and malolactic. Lees are stirred every 7 to 10 days. Nine months in American and French oak, 37 percent new. That is the Rombauer cream: peach and melon first, toast second.
100% Chardonnay from Napa and Sonoma Carneros. 14.6% alcohol. Buchli Station still supplies mother lots near the bay.
Serve 50 to 55 F. A few minutes out of the fridge lets vanilla and peach show.
Forty years of Carneros Chardonnay
The family added a white in 1982 so Cabernet would not sit at the table alone. Carneros fruit made the style famous.
Koerner wanted five things in the glass: ripe fruit, vanilla oak, a creamy mid-palate, a buttery finish, and acid to hold it.
Sangiacomo and estate Carneros sites still deliver that cool-climate fruit. Wind off the bay keeps the canopy honest.
The 2024 is that brief in a classic year: peach, cream, and a finish that still snaps.
Lobster, brown butter, and a cold glass
Creamy Carneros Chardonnay wants sweet shellfish and hazelnut brown butter. Lobster risotto or squash ravioli.
Two plates. One butter lobster risotto. One butternut squash ravioli with hazelnut brown butter.
Serve 50 to 55 F. Pull it from the fridge a few minutes before the first glass.
Butter Lobster Risotto
Butter-poached lobster and creamy risotto lean into vanilla and malolactic texture.
Why it works: Lobster and butter match peach and cream. Citrus acidity resets the plate.
View Recipe for Butter Lobster Risotto (opens in a new tab)
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Hazelnut Brown Butter
Brown butter, sage, and hazelnuts draw out oak spice and vanilla.
Why it works: Brown butter connects to the creamy mid-palate. Sage keeps the pairing savory.
View Recipe for butternut squash ravioli (opens in a new tab)Put Rombauer Chardonnay in the cart
Richie Allen, Carneros fruit, peach and cream. Thirty-five dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Rombauer white for a table that wants the famous cream with enough acid to stay dinner.
