DeLoach Vineyards
2012 Ritchie Vineyard Middle Reach Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$50
This wine from one of Russian River Valley’s star sites is rich and decadently creamy in vanilla and apple-crisp character, balanced by refreshing acidity and bright citrus and apple fruit. Oak plays a supporting role, adding depth and mouthfeel. (VB)

Dutton-Goldfield Winery
2012 Dutton Ranch Rued Vineyard Green Valley of Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$55
Warren Dutton planted the Rued Vineyard in 1969, to a clone that has tiny berries and intense flavors. His son, Steve, and winemaker Dan Goldfield, produce this sumptuous, layered wine from this vineyard. It has caramel aromas, mouth-filling citrus, poached pear, stone fruit and guava flavors, and a bracing mineral finish. (LM)

Flowers Vineyard & Winery
2012 Camp Meeting Ridge Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
$70
It’s delicate and ethereal, with great verve. Meyer lemon, lemon curd, oyster shell and pleasant salinity express the growing conditions in a mouthwatering way. Vines planted just 2 miles from the Pacific impart a distinct sea-air salinity. (LM)

Keller Estate
2012 La Cruz Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
$33
This vineyard-designated, estate-grown wine from the Petaluma Gap opens with a bouquet of floral jasmine. It’s very fresh and inviting. The palate offers elegant minerality and succulence, with a hint of dried herbs. It’s medium-bodied and mouth-filling, but never overbearing. (VB)

Long board Vineyards
2013 Rochioli Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$54
From a stellar vineyard comes this well integrated wine that’s medium-bodied and beautifully textured, with minerality, rich Gravenstein apple and honey flavors, bright acidity and complexity that suggests long-term cellar aging. (VB)

MacRostie Winery & Vineyards
2013 Sangiacomo Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay
$44
Winemaker Steve MacRostie has worked with Sangiacomo grapes since 1987 and can be counted on to produce elegant, nuanced Chardonnays from there. The lush, juicy 2013 has notes of Meyer lemon, green apple, baked bread and oak spice, with a slightly creamy texture and bright acidity. (LM)

McIlroy Cellars
2013 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$20
Chardonnay prices have soared recently, so bravo to McIlroy for not following suit with this bottling. Produced in a bold, oaky style, its toast and caramel character complements the vibrant apple, pear and citrus fruit. (LM)

Patz & Hall
2013 Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$44
Floral, round and decadent, this wine is made from some of the appellation’s oldest plantings of Chardonnay, and the vine age lends a subtle complexity and depth. Fresh peach and melon flavors are supported by vanilla and anise notes. (VB)

Paul Hobbs
2013 Richard Dinner Vineyard Sonoma
Mountain Chardonnay
$70
Super-rich, dense and intense, with honey, crème brûlée and vanillin character framing the ripe yellow stone fruit and citrus flavors. Mouthwatering acidity keeps this substantial, full-flavored wine fresh and refreshing. (LM)

Pfendler Vineyards
2013 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
$38
From the high reaches of the Petaluma Gap comes this succulent white made by Greg Bjornstad. It’s rich without being heavy: a balanced and refined expression of Chardonnay with svelte layers of peach tart and lemon custard, and a zesty Meyer lemon finish. (VB)
Ramey Wine Cellars
2012 Ritchie Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay
$65
For all its power and richness, it has fabulous freshness and balance. Meyer lemon, mango, papaya and citrus flavors meld beautifully with
toasty oak and a creaminess from aging on the spent yeast cells. From Kent Ritchie’s 40-year old Chardonnay block. (LM)

Red Car Wine Co.
2012 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
$35
This minimally oaked wine combines exotic floral aromas and a creamy mouthfeel with dry, fresh-squeezed grapefruit and tangerine flavors. Perfectly delicious as an aperitif, it also has structure for service at the table. (VB)

Roche Estate Winery
2013 French Oak Reserve Carneros Chardonnay
$38
Beat every other wine to win Best of the Best at the 2015 North Coast Wine Challenge. It’s rich, creamy and beautifully balanced, with oak in the background and juicy apple, pear and tropical fruit flavors. Complete and complex. (LM)

Sonoma Coast Vineyards
2012 Gold Ridge Hills Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
$30
Earned its 97-point score at the North Coast Wine Challenge for its intense citrus, peach and melon fruit, brisk acidity and underlying oak character that supports, yet does not overwhelm, the brilliant fruit. (LM)

Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards
2004 Late Disgorged Carneros Cuvée
$70
A full-bodied and super-creamy wine with yeastiness and toasted almond accenting the fleshy yellow stone fruit and citrus flavors. Rich and voluptuous, it’s a decadent expression of traditionally made California bubbly. (LM)

Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards
2007 Carneros Royal Cuvée
$37
First served to Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia during their visit to California in 1987, this sophisticated sparkler is deep and mouth-filling, with a toasty brioche character that comes from extended aging in the bottle. Green apple and citrus flavors and bracing
minerality keep it fresh, yet it has extraordinary concentration and complexity. (LM)

Iron Horse Vineyards
2010 Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Wedding Cuvée
$42
A tremendous sparkler year in and year out. The 2010 vintage is a blend of 74 percent Pinot Noir and 26 percent Chardonnay — the winery’s take on blanc de noirs. Peach, raspberry and blood orange flavors star, with bracing acidity on the long, brisk finish. (VB)

Iron Horse Vineyards
2010 Green Valley of Russian River Valley
Classic Vintage Brut
$42
This Pinot Noir-Chardonnay blend shows the Pinot side in its coppery-pink color and hints of wild berry and cherry. But it’s not effusively fruity, instead precise and refined, with brioche, baked apple, honey and spice complexity gained from four years of aging on spent yeast. (LM)

J Vineyards & Winery
Sonoma County Cuvée 20 Brut
$28
Judy Jordan created this nonvintage bubbly to celebrate J’s 20th anniversary (she founded it in 1986 and sold the winery to E. & J. Gallo
in 2015). It delivers frothy Meyer lemon and green apple flavors, subtle yeastiness and a gentle kiss of sweetness. (LM)

Sonoma can grow just about any wine grape — And does. With its incomparable range of wine types and styles, There’s no reason to look elsewhere for a great bottle. Here are our favorites from 2015, each one Sonoma-grown.

by Linda Murphy with Virginie Boone

Wine tasting is no different than movie watching. Neither is based on science, but rather on individual taste, perception and emotion.
She enjoys romance flicks, he prefers action films. She likes Pinot Noirs with firm structure and earthiness, he goes for ripe, juicy, richly flavored Pinots. There’s no right or wrong, just personal preference.

Roger Ebert could love the same film that Gene Siskel trashed. It works that way with wine, too. So by default, our selections for the Top 100 Wines of 2015 are subjective and experiential, yet also well informed. We worked very hard to come up with 100 bottles that we stand behind for quality, price range and availability that will please most palates. Sure,
tasting wine is fun and convivial, but evaluating wine to be recommended to Sonoma magazine readers is serious stuff.

Don’t see your favorite wine on the list? Then look for it on on our coverage of world-class wines that have very limited — or no — availability. Which winemakers might you not know about, but should?
They’re here. Looking for a great vintage? Check. Science might one day be able to tell consumers precisely what wine they will love before they taste it. Until then, we have humans with distinctly individual senses of smell, taste and vision, to do the work for us. One of wine’s finest qualities is that it stimulates conversation. Our Top 100 Wines of 2015
list will likely do that. Let us know what you think.

Note:
Initials after each wine description are for reviewers Virginie Boone (VB)
and Linda Murphy (LM). Wines produced in Sonoma County, from Sonoma County grapes, are legally required to include “Sonoma
County” on their labels. For brevity, “Sonoma County” has been omitted
from the wine names.

Methodology: It’s a tough job. Really.

With more than 400 Sonoma wineries producing thousands
of different bottlings each year, how did we settle on 2015’s best? It took lots
of tasting, and retasting, and assistance from the judges at The Press Democrat 2015 North Coast Wine Challenge, to come up with 100 great wines sure to please all palates and pocketbooks.

Sonoma magazine managing editor Linda Murphy and magazine contributor Virginie
Boone worked together to select the Top 100, taking into account their own tastings and
high-scoring wines from the North Coast Wine Challenge competition, held in April.

In addition to writing for Sonoma magazine and The Press Democrat, Boone is a contributing editor for New York-based Wine Enthusiast magazine, reviewing thousands of wines each year from Sonoma and Napa. Murphy, a two-time James Beard Award winner when she was the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle’s wine section, tastes as many wines, with her comments appearing in Decanter magazine and WineReviewOnline.com, among other publications.

Their mission was to spotlight 100 outstanding wines produced in Sonoma, from Sonoma-grown grapes, with a broad diversity in price, style, growing region and producer. Wines scoring 94 points and higher at the 2015 North Coast Wine Challenge were given strong consideration. All recommended wines were released in 2015.
– LM

Check out which wines made the list here:

Top 100 Wines: Sauvignon Blanc

More to come soon!

Dry Creek Vineyard
2014 Sonoma County Fumé Blanc
$14
Its oh-so-friendly price and wide availability belies its greatness. When young, this Sauvignon Blanc has effusive floral, citrus and fennel aromas, succulent lemon-lime, grapefruit and pleasantly grassy flavors, with a lingering finish. With age, it becomes a multidimensional wonder. (LM)

Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery
2014 Russian River Selection Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$28
Grapes grown in the Ritchie Vineyard were fermented in a combination of stainless steel
and neutral French oak barrels, giving the wine texture and depth. Floral aromas and vibrant lemon-lime, grapefruit, green melon and tropical fruit flavors combine for an energetic drink. (LM)

Geyser Peak Winery
2014 River Ranches Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$22
Made in relatively small amounts, it’s a delightfully light, well-rounded expression of the
variety, with a well-defined beginning, middle and finish. It has lime, mint and cilantro on
the nose, and the palate is all about fresh peach and citrus, finishing refreshingly crisp. (VB)

Grey Stack Cellars
2014 Rosemary’s Block Bennett Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$33
Really delicious and aromatic, with pear, mineral, floral scents and a full, juicy palate of
pear, citrus and exotic tropical fruit. The finish is scintillating and long. (LM)

J. Rickards Winery
2014 Croft Vineyard Alexander Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$21
It has admirable depth and minerality to go with crisp apple and pear flavors and a bracing lemon-lime tang. The addition of 5 percent Semillon lends a complex fig character, and a hint of vanilla adds interest. (LM)

MacLaren Wine Co.
2014 Dry Creek Valley Lee’s Sauvignon Blanc
$28
Name a wine after Mom, as this producer did, and it’s sure to be delicious — especially when it’s her favorite varietal. Bright and opulent, it exhibits pineapple, mango and tangerine character. From entry through finish, it has tangy acidity with bursts of lime zest. (VB)

Merry Edwards Winery
2013 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$32
The “Queen of Pinot Noir,” Edwards also excels at Sauvignon Blanc. This voluptuous wine
offers crème brûlée and tropical fruit, layered and nicely textured. Generous and decadent, it finishes with minerality and creaminess. (VB)

Teira Wines
2014 Woods Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$15
A crisp, assertive wine with lime and grapefruit flavors, hints of just-cut grass and fresh herbs, and striking acidity. The grapes come from vines planted by Clos du Bois co-founder Frank Woods. His daughter, Alexis, and her husband, Daniel Donahoe, own Teira. The name was inspired by daughters Thea and Keira. (LM)

VML
2014 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
$23
Best of Class winner at the 2015 North Coast Challenge, it was made by Virginia Marie Lambrix (VML) and offers racy grapefruit and lime character, with hints of tropical fruit, fresh herbs and kiwi fruit. The finish is clean and refreshing. (LM)