Road Chardonnay
⏳ Drinking Window & Cellar Guidance
Typically best enjoyed 3–10 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Culinary Pairings
roasted chicken, creamy mushroom risotto, pan-seared scallops
✨ Technical Specifications
The Martinelli Road Chardonnay is sourced from a historic parcel situated directly below the family's iconic Jackass Hill vineyard in the cool Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. Planted on steep, north-facing slopes characterized by classic Goldridge sandy loam soils, this vineyard benefits from the lingering morning fog and cool breezes off the Pacific Ocean, allowing for a long, slow ripening period. The Martinelli family farms this site with the same rigorous, hand-tended dedication applied to their oldest heritage plots. In the cellar, the wine is crafted using traditional, low-intervention methods: fermented with wild yeasts in French oak barrels and aged on its lees, undergoing full malolactic fermentation. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, it represents a rich, texturally complex expression of Russian River Valley Chardonnay, balancing opulent stone fruit and toasted brioche notes with a vibrant, mineral-driven acidity.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in the late 1880s by Italian immigrants Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini, Martinelli Winery is a celebrated multi-generational estate nestled in California's Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. For over a century, the family has farmed historically significant, steep hillside sites, most famously the iconic Jackass Hill and Jackass Vineyard planted in 1887. Guided by an uncompromising dedication to estate viticulture and low-intervention winemaking, the winery captures the distinct microclimates and soils of Sonoma County. Martinelli is globally acclaimed for its powerful, old-vine Zinfandels, expressive single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, structured Syrahs, and richly textured Chardonnays.