Rhyolite Chardonnay
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2026
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Pan-seared halibut, roasted chicken, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ Technical Specifications
Pax Mahle's exploration of Sonoma County's diverse terroir extends beautifully into his white winemaking. While widely celebrated for pioneering cool-climate Syrah, Pax applies the same philosophy of minimal intervention and structural elegance to Chardonnay. Sourced from vineyards that highlight the region's complex geology—including areas defined by volcanic rhyolite soils—this style of Chardonnay eschews the heavy, buttery oak of traditional California expressions. Instead, it focuses on purity, tension, and mineral drive. The winemaking typically employs whole-cluster pressing, native yeast fermentation, and aging in neutral French oak or concrete vessels. This preserves the grape's natural acidity and allows the distinctive, flinty, and saline characteristics of the coastal-influenced soils to shine through, offering a vibrant and texturally intriguing expression of California Chardonnay.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 2000 by Pax and Pam Mahle, Pax Wines is an acclaimed artisanal producer based in Sebastopol within Sonoma County, California. Recognized as a pioneer of the New California wine movement, the winery focuses on cool-climate coastal terroirs across Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Pax champions a minimalist, old-world approach to vinification, utilizing whole-cluster fermentation, indigenous yeasts, and aging in neutral French oak and concrete tanks to preserve purity and freshness. The estate is widely celebrated for its benchmark, savory Syrah bottlings—such as the Sonoma-Hillsides and Alder Springs Vineyard designations—as well as dynamic, terroir-driven expressions of Gamay, Chenin Blanc, and heritage varieties.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Chardonnay