Cobb Chardonnay H. Klopp Vineyard Sonoma Coast 2021

Cool-climate chardonnay fans are in for a REAL treat today! Double 97s on this tiny-production bottling, sourced from Sonoma Coast’s 8-acre, H. Klopp vineyard in Sebastopol and delicately crafted by the steadfast team at Cobb Wines. This is a pristinely crisp and bright – yet round and subtly honeyed – chardonnay that easily drinks like top-notch White Burgundy for a fraction of the price! With free shipping on 3+ bottles – it’s an easy choice, in our books!

As David and Diane Cobb approached their retirement, they pictured living somewhere close to both the redwoods and the Pacific Ocean. They also wanted land to plant grapevines to sell fruit to local winemakers. Searching from Santa Cruz to the Oregon border, they ended up landing among the western edges of Sonoma County, soon constructing their redwood-framed home and hand-planting their Coastlands vineyard in 1989. Every hole, wire, and end-post was dug by a family member or friend, and the Cobbs’ son, Ross, recalls the conditions being so wet and soggy that they had to lay down cardboard pieces to stand on while digging, so as not to slide about and twist their ankles during the work.

Their goal was to grow and sell immaculate fruit on their new, picturesque property. They checked that off their list with the sale of some of their first usable grapes to Williams Selyem in 1992 – where, a handful of years later in 1999, Ross would become the viticulturist and enologist. His experience in winemaking led him to ponder what it would be like to make wines from his family’s plantings, and in 2001, the Cobb Wines first pinot noir vintage was harvested and vinified in a small, hand-dug cellar beneath David and Diane’s front deck. The next decade showed the family’s devotion paying off, as David and Ross hustled to expand their portfolio and get their wines in front of the top sommeliers and restaurants in San Francisco – ultimately placing their wares in 120 restaurants in the Bay without the help of a distributor. Most of their remaining allocation went directly to their mailing list, keeping the operation small, intimate, and incredibly hard to come by unless you had an in.

And, would you look at that – we’re pleased to say we have an in for you today! Ross now helms his family’s winemaking efforts while also contributing to some of the top brands throughout Sonoma County, with a strong philosophical emphasis on allowing nature and terroir to dictate his end-product wines’ characteristics and style. The H. Klopp vineyard, where this 2021 was sourced, is located in the lower Sebastopol Hills, south of downtown, and grows four clones: Old Wente, Mt. Eden, Clone 4, and Robert Young. The grapes thrive in the Goldridge Series loam here and experience the cool, coastal fog and climate – which allow for a vibrant acidity and rich minerality to translate beautifully into the wines.

Only 300 cases of this bright and layered chardonnay were made – and we were thrilled to get around 20 of them to share with our First Bottle crew. A riveting assortment of characters makes an appearance in the profile on this: charred lemons, crunchy white peach, graham cracker pie crust, and a waft of sea mist aromas, plus a few drops of honey, and lemon meringue, and slivered almonds, and peach cobbler, and briny oyster shell flavors...I’m not gonna lie, my mouth is watering just remembering it, and I can proudly say I’ve never placed a quicker order myself on a chardonnay we’ve offered. Free shipping on 3+ bottles, and trust me – you’re going to want 3+ bottles, at least!

PAIRING IDEAS: That note of oyster shells begs for a pairing of minerally Olympia oysters (the only oysters indigenous to the West Coast, from Washington State) with a crisp cucumber mignonette.