The 2020 Chardonnay Highland Divide, released direct-to-consumer only, has pure, gregarious aromas of baked apples and peaches, roasted almonds, honey, pastry and a classy frame of new oak spice. The palate surprises with its high concentration and balancing bursts of refreshing acidity. Ultra satiny, it offers loads of spicy flavor layers and a very long finish driven by a touch of phenolic texture.

The 2018 Chardonnay Highland Divide has bright scents of lemon peel and crushed stone over a core of quince paste, dried hay and honeycomb. The palate is medium-bodied and swells with savory, toasty flavor layers, with an uplifted, fresh frame and long finish.

The 2017 Chardonnay Highland Divide was barrel fermented and aged 12 months on the lees in 33% new oak. It's toasty on the nose with loads of spices over a core of ripe peach, apricot and nectarine, honey, crème fra?che, citrus peel and crushed shell. Light to medium-bodied, it offers a good interplay of mineral and savory character with tangy acidity and a very long, focused finish. 950 cases produced.

The 2016 Chardonnay Highland Divide offers intense notions of apple pie, warm apricots and green guava with touches of clotted cream, scones, marzipan and beeswax. Full-bodied, concentrated and packed with stone fruit and tropical layers, it reveals lovely honeyed and toasty accents with a lively backbone and satisfying length.

The 2010 Chardonnay is alluring in its beauty. Rich, layered and totally expressive, the 2010 caresses the palate with hints of almonds, orange peel, spices, butter and a hint of French oak. The 2010 is endowed with tons of Russian River character, but with no sense of excess heaviness. The vineyard sources are predominantly Lorenzo and Dutton. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2019. Winemaker Andy Smith describes 2009 as a “sweet, forward vintage,” while 2011 is more “dynamic and commercial.” Smith reserves his highest praise for 2010, which he calls his favorite among the three current vintages. In 2011, Smith bulked out 20% of his Pinot Noirs, including the entire production of the Eoin. All the 2011 Pinots came in before the rains. Smith used whole clusters only for the Aidan, as botrytis was an issue in all the other Pinot vineyards. The Charles Heintz Chardonnay came in after the rains. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to taste the 2011 Syrahs, as the final blends had not yet been put together at the time of this tasting. In broad terms, the DuMol Chardonnays are all fermented and aged in barrel, with no lees stirring. Some of the wines are aged in slightly larger 300-liter barrels, and at times the malolactic fermentations are partly blocked, which results in wines that are texturally rich but also full of energy, a combination that is rare and hard to achieve. The single-vineyard Pinots spend 14-15 months in barrel on their fine lees, while the Syrahs get a few more months in oak. At their best, the Pinots and Syrahs are compelling.Tel. (925) 254-8922