Rombauer Vineyards spotlight
The official Rombauer Vineyards channel's This Joyful Moment film is the house welcome behind this 375 milliliter 2023 Carneros Chardonnay.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2023 Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay Carneros across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $33.02 and the average is $39.62. Our slash is $20.00.
375ML Half Bottle 2023 Rombauer Vineyards Chardonnay Carneros
Rombauer's Carneros Chardonnay in 375 milliliters, peach and vanilla cream, a half bottle you can open at twenty dollars.
The 2023 Rombauer Chardonnay is 100 percent Carneros fruit in a 375 mL bottle: ripe peach, melon, citrus, creamy vanilla, and butter after whole-cluster press, full malolactic, and 9 months in American and French oak, now $20.
The Chardonnay that defined a style, in a bottle you will finish
A Carneros Chardonnay is easier to open when the bottle is 375 milliliters. Whole-cluster press, barrel ferment, full malolactic, lees stirred every two weeks, 9 months in American and French oak (35 percent new). Ripe peach and melon, then vanilla and butter held up by Carneros acidity. The house called 2023 one of the best vintages in recent memory. You just do not have to commit to a full bottle on a Tuesday.
The house
Koerner and Joan launched Carneros Chardonnay as the generous California white. Andrew Holloway, named winemaker in 2023, still makes it that way.
The wine
100% Chardonnay. Whole-cluster press, barrel ferment, full ML, lees stirring, 9 months oak. 14.6% ABV.
The format
A 375 milliliter is two generous glasses. Same method. Less leftover-bottle math.
The drinker
Serve 50 to 55 F. Crab cakes or lobster risotto.
Ripe peach and melon, then vanilla and butter
The 2023 fact sheet writes aromas of ripe peach and melon with bright citrus, then creamy vanilla and buttery nuances on the long finish, acidity holding the mid-palate soft. Decanter 93 on the 750 found creamy vanilla and buttery brioche, never over the top, then candied ginger, citrus, tangerine peel, and baked pineapple on a saline-mineral close.
The house called 2023 one of the best vintages in recent memory: cool and consistent, then warm spells in September, 23.3 Brix, harvest September 22 to October 30. Ripe fruit with the acid Rombauer needs.
Ripe peach, melon, citrus, mango, vanilla, a hint of butter.
Creamy mid-palate, 14.6% ABV, full ML, 9 months oak, 35% new.
Long, vanilla, bright acid. Serve 50 to 55 F.
Whole-cluster press, then lees and oak for cream
On the 2023 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 two weeks. Nine months in American and French oak, 35 percent new. The 375 milliliter format does not change the method. It changes how much you commit to tonight.
100% Chardonnay. 14.6% alcohol. Carneros fruit from Napa and Sonoma sides of the bay, including Sangiacomo.
Serve 50 to 55 F. Pull it from the fridge a few minutes before the first glass so peach and vanilla show.
The white that made Rombauer a household name
Cabernet was first in 1980. Chardonnay followed as the queen of the table, and Carneros fruit made the style famous.
Koerner wanted a richer California Chardonnay that still had acid. Carneros, cooled by San Pablo Bay, gave him both.
Sangiacomo and estate Carneros sites still deliver that cool-climate fruit. Wind off the bay keeps the canopy honest.
The 2023 half bottle is that same house Chardonnay in a format built for two glasses.
Crab, butter, and a cold half bottle
Creamy Carneros Chardonnay wants sweet shellfish and brown butter. Crab cakes or lobster risotto. A 375 milliliter fits two plates.
Two plates. One crab cake. One butter lobster risotto. Both fit a half bottle.
Serve 50 to 55 F. Half bottles open quickly. No decant.
Butter Lobster Risotto
Butter-poached lobster and creamy risotto lean into vanilla and the 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)Open the half tonight
Same Carneros Chardonnay, a 375 milliliter you will actually finish. Twenty dollars against a $30 typical retail.
Put six in the cart. This is Rombauer Chardonnay without leftover-bottle math.
