The 2021 Freeman Ryo-fu Chardonnay has a light gold color and a fruitforward nose of Fuji apples, nutmeg, honey and orange zest. It’s one of our more full-bodied Chardonnays with a full palate of ripe stone fruit, lemon cream and marzipan.
Ryo-fu is Japanese for “cool breeze,” a fitting name for this Russian River Valley Chardonnay shaped by the chilly winds that blow in from the Pacific Ocean. Our local ryo-fu, along with the region’s famous fog and sandy loam soil, create ideal growing conditions for this vineyard.
Fortunately, 2021 was a smoke-free vintage for all of coastal California, and the first vintage since 2016 that brought virtually no wildfires in Sonoma wine country. This was in contrast to 2020, when the entire county’s vineyards were threatened by smoke.
Pairs well with pork, vegetarian dishes, and poultry based dishes.