Home > 2006 Freestone Chardonnay   FORMAT FOR PRINT
Publication wine review online.com
Author Robert Whitley
Date October 28, 2008
Award 96 Points
Review For $75 you should expect an extraordinary wine. You wouldn’t be disappointed. The ‘06 Freestone is everything California Chardonnay could and should be if it were always planted in the right place, with the right clones, and a minimalist philosophy that emphasized the purity of exceptional fruit from outstanding terroir. Well, a boy can dream! The Freestone is a textbook in restraint, delicate and vibrant, with notes of lemon custard, brioche, a scintillating minerality and barely obvious oak. Remarkably, it is not texturally austere, offering an oily palate despite firm acidity and a crisp, long finish. Very impressive.  (Robert Whitley)
Publication Wine Enthusiast
Date February 1, 2009
Award 95 Points
Review Joseph Phelps, of Napa Valley fame, has been working this cool-climate vineyard for years. Now it’s paying off, in this acidic Chardonnay with a tang of the sea. Rich in Meyer lemon, lime, guava and spice flavors, its coating of smoky oak adds exotic levels of buttered toast and crème brûlée. Fascinating and tremendous. — S.H.
Publication Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Date December 31, 2008
Award 92 Points
Review Possesses zesty acidity along with notions of orange and lemon blossoms, a steely texture, and a subtle note of wood. It is medium to full-bodied with outstanding freshness, and a very good finish.
Publication Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Date May/June 2008
Award 90-92 Points
Review Pale gold. Aromas of pineapple, nectarine and butterscotch, lifted by a whiff of lemon drop. Dense and firm-edged, with a distinctly saline quality adding interest to the nectarine and mineral flavors. Racy ripe acidity really carries the fruit on the firm, uncompromisingly dry back end. Serious Chardonnay in the making, with little in the way of easy tropical fruits, and an alcohol level under 14%. Visit website.
Publication wine review online.com
Author Robert Whitley
Date January 6, 2009
Review Great Eight of 2008
Freestone Vineyards – What a welcome addition to the landscape of California wine. Freestone is owned by the Joseph Phelps family of the Napa Valley and specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. The wines are all about purity of expression and terroir, but more than that they hark to a style of winemaking that prizes balance and elegance over sheer power. The 2006 Chardonnay is simply stunning. Only a handful of California producers – Kistler, Sonoma Cutrer, Nickel & Nickel, Patz & Hall – play in this league. (Robert Whitley)
Publication Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Date May-June 2010
Award 89 Points
Review Pale straw-yellow. Aromas of peach pit and skin, with musky suggestions of quinine and brown spices. Juicy and quite firm in the mouth, with somewhat tart acidity keeping the stone fruit flavors under wraps. Offers very good intensity, but the lingering finish seems quite ungiving today.