2015 WindRacer Chardonnay Anderson Valley 750 ml

The last WindRacer Chardonnay we offered sold out in short order—an outstanding, opulent Russian River Valley release for under $30 was easy math for our members. By 3 p.m., we were fresh out and directing buyers to like-minded bottles still in stock.

That’s the reason we’ve been calling consistently ever since, to find out whether Barbara Banke—who owns some of the most gorgeous vineyards along the coast of Oregon and California Coast—could spare another allocation of her scintillating WindRacer Chardonnay for Wine Access members. 

The answer was always polite, but it was always no—until we happened to luck out and catch Barbara with a few cases of her 2015 WindRacer Chardonnay Anderson Valley, the limited-production secret from Mendocino County that’s become her spare-no-expense passion project. 

Needless to say, we claimed all we could—at 38% off.

We were thrilled to have finally landed upon a “yes,” and that should be your answer too, because this allocation won’t last. Showing a perfect balance of crisp and structured, yet still sultry and voluptuous, this beautiful expression of fog-cooled Anderson Valley terroir doesn’t miss a beat. Fleshy orchard fruit fills the palate in broad, smooth strokes, with an undercurrent of salty citrus zip resolving into wet stone minerality.

On the WindRacer website, this bottle costs $40. Wine Access members get an inside deal: just $25 on a bottle that bests any number of cool-climate Chardonnays at a fantastic value.

Barbara teamed up with Peggy Furth, of Sonoma’s Chalk Hill Chardonnay fame, to start WindRacer, allowing both women to focus exclusively into their favorite coastal vineyard expressions. This 2015 bottling hails from the Ordway Vineyard, situated between two of the region’s most well-known sites: Roederer and Navarro. A single block of the Robert Young clone of Chardonnay, known for its brightness and purity, is refreshed by brisk, marine breezes from the Pacific Ocean. Sharp diurnal variation between goosebump nights and heat-lamp afternoons preserves the piercing acidity, with a savory, saline tang kept fresh by morning fogs. A long growing season teases out ripe-pear concentration that fills the palate, luscious yet light.

The finishing touches in vinification are just as luxurious, as this prime Anderson Valley juice sees the inside of 100% French oak, 29% new, for 15 months, stirred every few weeks to attain the creamy, oak-touched mouthfeel that rolls across the tongue.

If you’re inclined to wait, the $40 bottles on the website might still be available. But if 38% off for a premiere cool-climate Chardonnay sounds appealing, jump on this today. Because if the last offer was any indication, it won’t stick around.