2022 DuMOL Chardonnay Wester Reach Russian River Valley 750 ml

You want to know who the California Chardonnay elite are, just take a glance at our member-ratings. The bottles that have garnered 4.6 stars or better from Wine Access come from a veritable Chardonnay aristocracy. Peter Michael ($200+) is there. So is Kistler ($200). And rubbing shoulders with these triple-digit-priced titans is DuMOL.

DuMOL’s Wester Reach is “one of the best Chardonnay wines I have ever had the pleasure of drinking,” in the unequivocal words of one of our members. The 2022 earned 95-point Editors’ Choice honors from Wine Enthusiast, plus another 95 from Jeb Dunnuck, who called it “the platonic ideal of Russian River Chardonnay.” 

Since their founding in 1996, DuMOL has risen to the very top of the Russian River Valley hierarchy on the strength of their Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Cabernet. And while DuMOL’s versatility has impressed both critics and wine lovers, their Burgundy varieties have made the biggest waves. No surprise, considering that longtime winemaker Andy Smith, in addition to working with 100-point legend Paul Hobbs, became a seasoned veteran of Russian River under Chardonnay master Ted Lemon of Littorai. 

That experience is on display in the 2022 Wester Reach, which comprises Old Wente, Mt. Eden, and Robert Young Chardonnay clones. 40% of the grapes were grown at DuMOL’s Flax Estate Vineyard, with the rest coming from Winners Circle, Cornerstone, Bressay Estate, and El Diablo. 

This range of plantings from varied soils, densities, and elevations provides a picture-perfect snapshot of California’s most acclaimed Chardonnay region, in a blessed vintage. Smith ushered the wine along by fermenting and aging it for 11 months in 27% new French oak, imbuing it with gorgeous body and spice.