Yellow delicious apple, gun smoke, sliced cantaloupe. Grilled lemon, salted cashew, barely-ripe peach. Bartlett pear, honeydew, and pineapple core highlight a bright and pure-fruited attack pulsing with impressive energy, freshness, and crunch. Lite floral tones of sunflower and apple blossom inject mild aromatic lift as impressions of graphite and an interesting smoky note quickly increase in intensity. Hay and fresh parsley gradually emerge revealing just a tinge of an herbal edge offset by a pleasant pinch of vanilla. Tart, crisp, and crunchy on the palate; finishing with nice zip and the distinct impression of cold stainless steel. Medium plus in body with wonderfully elevated acidity. This 2016 Starscape Vineyard Chardonnay by Vokel Cellars is a refreshing and sunshine-filled white from the Russian River Valley.

As summer approaches in the northern hemisphere it is essential to ensure there is plenty of crisp and delicious white wine on hand to help cool things down. This bottling, crafted by Vokel Cellars using Chardonnay sourced from the Starscape Vineyard in Sonoma's Russian River Valley, is an excellent example of a ripe yet refreshing white perfect to enjoy on a warm day. Tart, crunchy, juicy fruit gleefully writes the plot line to this story aided by smoky reductive notes and a subtle kiss of oak. Thanks to a firm backbone of acidity and withheld MLF a crisp and zippy finish awaits without any hints of buttery roundness. This is a fun and easy going style of Chardonnay ideal to enjoy outdoors in the sun.