2022 Littorai Charles Heintz Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | |
| Appellation | Sonoma County |
| Winery | |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Grape | |
| Content (Alc) | 0.75 ltr (13.5%) |
| Drink window | 2025 - 2040 |
Low Stock
Only 4 left
Description
The Littorai Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast is a beautiful white wine from California, specifically from the Sonoma Coast region. The wine is made from grapes from the Charles Heintz Vineyard, which is known for its cool climate and chalky soil. Clear light golden yellow in color. This Chardonnay is characterized by its rich flavors of citrus fruits, pear and apple, with subtle hints of vanilla and honey. In the taste palette tones of lime, yellow stone fruit, sage, fresh toast and a little vanilla, which are accompanied by a long, slightly salty finish with refined acids. It has a full structure and a rounded finish. The wine comes from organic and biodynamically managed vineyards. The Littorai Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast is a beautiful wine that is perfect for a special occasion or to share with friends and family. It is a wine that combines perfectly with fish dishes, poultry and cheese.
The Charles Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast Vineyard is located at 820 feet elevation on a gently rolling plateau seven miles west of the Pacific Ocean. Littorai was the first winery to bottle a single vineyard Chardonnay from this vineyard with the 1994 vintage. Littorai is an exclusively organic vineyard. The vineyard was planted in 1983 and is located on loam and sandstone soils of maritime origin.
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in Checkout page. We are almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
Specifications
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Californie |
| Appellation | Sonoma County |
| Winery | Littorai |
| Grape | Chardonnay |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2040 |
| Alcohol % | 13.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 96 |
| James Suckling rating | 98 |
| Vinous rating | 92 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Rijk, Rond, Vol, Wit fruit |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard, Romantisch |
Professional Reviews
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 95+
Reviewed by:
Erin Brooks
Release Price:
NA
Drink Date:
2025 - 2040
From vines planted in 1983, the 2022 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard features understated scents of quince peel, saline, beeswax and acacia. The light-bodied palate is reminiscent of Chablis, with addicting tangy acidity. It has a silky texture, detailed fruit and a long, shell-laced finish. It gains intensity and expression as it spends time in the glass, and it will be very long lived in bottle. 243 cases were made.
Published: Mar 29, 2024
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
Score
98
Avg Price (ex-tax)
$ 131
Littorai Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Charles Heintz Vineyard 2022
Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024
Color
White
Country
United States
Region
California
Vintage
2022
Very perfumed with flowers such as lilacs as well as fresh apples and ripe pears. Hints of flint, iodine and umami. Full-bodied, but it’s balanced and integrated with true purity and beauty. Powerful, very energetic and racy. Zesty finish. Very, very exciting. One for the cellar, but you can drink it young.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
92
Drinking Window
2025 - 2029
From: Update - Sonoma and Neighbors 2022 & 2023: Opposites Attract (Jan 2025)
The 2022 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard comes across as very subdued. Wines from this site often show more mid-palate oiliness, but the 2022 here is decidedly quiet, as if the volume is turned down. I would prefer to drink this on the earlier side.
- By Antonio Galloni on January 2025
My annual tasting at Littorai is always one of the highlights of the year because the wines encompass so many top vineyards in Sonoma County and Anderson Valley. Explorations of site. That’s what this range is all about.
Cold, foggy weather was a constant in the early part of 2023. Conditions were much more favorable in Anderson Valley, where growing degree days outpaced those of Sonoma through late May. “Between the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley, we had the most radically different start to the year as I have ever seen,” Ted Lemon noted. “It was the exact opposite of 2022.”
July saw high temperatures that were problematic in some spots, notably Savoy, where Lemon dropped a significant amount of the crop because of sunburn. Cluster sizing continued throughout August and September, leading to fruit being dropped as late as mid-September. The Pinots were picked starting on September 20 with Mays Canyon and Richardson Ranch. All the other Pinots were harvested in October, with two picks on November 1. For Chardonnay, harvest ran from October 10 to 25, almost a month later than 2022. The Pinots were vinified with a fair proportion of whole clusters. I tasted all the 2023s from tank, except for the Charles Heintz Chardonnay (which was still fermenting). Lemon opted to bottle a handful of Pinots early because of their softness. Those wines are reviewed from bottle.
There aren’t a lot of surprises with the bottled 2022s. The whites are soft and open-knit, as they were last year, while the Pinots are every bit as exciting as they were when I tasted them from barrel. Stem inclusion is in the 20% range for most Pinots, a bit less than in 2023. Stylistically, the 2022 are quite supple, while the 2023s are more delineated.
(91-93)
Drinking Window
2024 - 2030
From: 2022 Sonoma: A First Look (Jan 2024)
The 2022 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard is gorgeous. Bright, precise and crystalline, the 2022 is an attractive wine from this site. Vibrant saline accents, white flowers, mint and white pepper all grace this decidedly understated Chardonnay from Charles Heintz.
- By Antonio Galloni on January 2024
My tasting this year with Ted Lemon opened with a stunning set of 2022 Pinots that immediately made clear what was possible in this vintage. The 2022s are deep, layered and wonderfully vibrant, with fewer of the extremes that marked some of the 2021s. I was blown away by the purity of the fruit in these wines. I tasted all the 2022 Pinots from barrel, prior to any racking, about a month prior to bottling, always a great time to taste the new vintage as the wines are in such an expressive state. Readers will want to pay special attention to the Richardson Ranch Pinot, a new bottling from a young site in Annapolis that is quite promising. Most of the 2022 Pinots saw some stem inclusion, 20-33% in most cases (the Thieriot saw none), although whole cluster influence is not especially strong, at least at this stage in the wines’ evolution.
The 2022 Chardonnays come across as a bit light in body, but those wines have been racked to tank and are, therefore, harder to assess at this stage.
“I am pretty sure 2022 saw the coldest, driest spring since 1999,” Lemon explained. “We had tiny, bonsai-like vines because there was not enough nutrient uptake. We did have good rains between April 11 and 23, though. Flowering was uneven, with a lot of shot berries. Summer was mostly cool. At The Haven we only had two days above 90 until September 1. For us, for where we were, the heat was too late and too brief to affect things. Generally, we had more water, and canopies were healthier, whereas, in 2021, we simply ran out of water in many sites. Vineyards that were used to water really struggled in 2021.”
Speaking of the 2021s, I also had a chance to revisit the entire range from bottle. The Pinots are just as exciting as they were from barrel, while the Chardonnays confirm the strength and consistency of the year.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
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Wijnhuis
After his adventures in Burgundy, owner Ted Lemon decided to go back to the United States and, in his own words, "wander around" looking for a suitable location for chardonnay and pinot noir. In 1993 he decided to go for it. Without the resources to immediately purchase a vineyard, this 'American dream' took a different turn. Not vineyards, but grapes - he bought them from several wineries in Anderson Valley and Sonoma Coast and made the wines at Robert Pecota in Calistoga in the north Napa Valley. Now, more than twenty years later, Ted and Heidi own about 7 hectares of vineyards and have long-term contracts with farmers for an additional 11 hectares of vines. Ted has been working on biodynamics since the early 2000s. The Littorai vineyards are not certified, but they work according to this philosophy. Littorai's wines are among the best in California. Ted Lemon makes pinot noir and chardonnay from single vineyards. Elegance, juiciness and concentration are key words in his cuvées. Wines with exceptional aging potential.
The Littorai Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast is a beautiful white wine from California, specifically from the Sonoma Coast region. The wine is made from grapes from the Charles Heintz Vineyard, which is known for its cool climate and chalky soil. Clear light golden yellow in color. This Chardonnay is characterized by its rich flavors of citrus fruits, pear and apple, with subtle hints of vanilla and honey. In the taste palette tones of lime, yellow stone fruit, sage, fresh toast and a little vanilla, which are accompanied by a long, slightly salty finish with refined acids. It has a full structure and a rounded finish. The wine comes from organic and biodynamically managed vineyards. The Littorai Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast is a beautiful wine that is perfect for a special occasion or to share with friends and family. It is a wine that combines perfectly with fish dishes, poultry and cheese.
The Charles Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast Vineyard is located at 820 feet elevation on a gently rolling plateau seven miles west of the Pacific Ocean. Littorai was the first winery to bottle a single vineyard Chardonnay from this vineyard with the 1994 vintage. Littorai is an exclusively organic vineyard. The vineyard was planted in 1983 and is located on loam and sandstone soils of maritime origin.
FACT: The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in Checkout page. We are almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.
| Type of Wine | White |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Californie |
| Appellation | Sonoma County |
| Winery | Littorai |
| Grape | Chardonnay |
| Biological certified | No |
| Natural wine | No |
| Vegan | No |
| Vintage | 2022 |
| Drinking as of | 2025 |
| Drinking till | 2040 |
| Alcohol % | 13.5 |
| Alcohol free/low | No |
| Content | 0.75 ltr |
| Oak aging | Yes |
| Sparkling | No |
| Dessert wine | No |
| Closure | Cork |
| Parker rating | 96 |
| James Suckling rating | 98 |
| Vinous rating | 92 |
| Tasting Profiles | Complex, Droog, Houtgerijpt, Krachtig, Rijk, Rond, Vol, Wit fruit |
| Drink moments | Indruk maken, Lekker luxe, Open haard, Romantisch |
Parker
The Wine Advocate
RP 95+
Reviewed by:
Erin Brooks
Release Price:
NA
Drink Date:
2025 - 2040
From vines planted in 1983, the 2022 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard features understated scents of quince peel, saline, beeswax and acacia. The light-bodied palate is reminiscent of Chablis, with addicting tangy acidity. It has a silky texture, detailed fruit and a long, shell-laced finish. It gains intensity and expression as it spends time in the glass, and it will be very long lived in bottle. 243 cases were made.
Published: Mar 29, 2024
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
James Suckling
Score
98
Avg Price (ex-tax)
$ 131
Littorai Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Charles Heintz Vineyard 2022
Wednesday, Jun 12, 2024
Color
White
Country
United States
Region
California
Vintage
2022
Very perfumed with flowers such as lilacs as well as fresh apples and ripe pears. Hints of flint, iodine and umami. Full-bodied, but it’s balanced and integrated with true purity and beauty. Powerful, very energetic and racy. Zesty finish. Very, very exciting. One for the cellar, but you can drink it young.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Vinous
92
Drinking Window
2025 - 2029
From: Update - Sonoma and Neighbors 2022 & 2023: Opposites Attract (Jan 2025)
The 2022 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard comes across as very subdued. Wines from this site often show more mid-palate oiliness, but the 2022 here is decidedly quiet, as if the volume is turned down. I would prefer to drink this on the earlier side.
- By Antonio Galloni on January 2025
My annual tasting at Littorai is always one of the highlights of the year because the wines encompass so many top vineyards in Sonoma County and Anderson Valley. Explorations of site. That’s what this range is all about.
Cold, foggy weather was a constant in the early part of 2023. Conditions were much more favorable in Anderson Valley, where growing degree days outpaced those of Sonoma through late May. “Between the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley, we had the most radically different start to the year as I have ever seen,” Ted Lemon noted. “It was the exact opposite of 2022.”
July saw high temperatures that were problematic in some spots, notably Savoy, where Lemon dropped a significant amount of the crop because of sunburn. Cluster sizing continued throughout August and September, leading to fruit being dropped as late as mid-September. The Pinots were picked starting on September 20 with Mays Canyon and Richardson Ranch. All the other Pinots were harvested in October, with two picks on November 1. For Chardonnay, harvest ran from October 10 to 25, almost a month later than 2022. The Pinots were vinified with a fair proportion of whole clusters. I tasted all the 2023s from tank, except for the Charles Heintz Chardonnay (which was still fermenting). Lemon opted to bottle a handful of Pinots early because of their softness. Those wines are reviewed from bottle.
There aren’t a lot of surprises with the bottled 2022s. The whites are soft and open-knit, as they were last year, while the Pinots are every bit as exciting as they were when I tasted them from barrel. Stem inclusion is in the 20% range for most Pinots, a bit less than in 2023. Stylistically, the 2022 are quite supple, while the 2023s are more delineated.
(91-93)
Drinking Window
2024 - 2030
From: 2022 Sonoma: A First Look (Jan 2024)
The 2022 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard is gorgeous. Bright, precise and crystalline, the 2022 is an attractive wine from this site. Vibrant saline accents, white flowers, mint and white pepper all grace this decidedly understated Chardonnay from Charles Heintz.
- By Antonio Galloni on January 2024
My tasting this year with Ted Lemon opened with a stunning set of 2022 Pinots that immediately made clear what was possible in this vintage. The 2022s are deep, layered and wonderfully vibrant, with fewer of the extremes that marked some of the 2021s. I was blown away by the purity of the fruit in these wines. I tasted all the 2022 Pinots from barrel, prior to any racking, about a month prior to bottling, always a great time to taste the new vintage as the wines are in such an expressive state. Readers will want to pay special attention to the Richardson Ranch Pinot, a new bottling from a young site in Annapolis that is quite promising. Most of the 2022 Pinots saw some stem inclusion, 20-33% in most cases (the Thieriot saw none), although whole cluster influence is not especially strong, at least at this stage in the wines’ evolution.
The 2022 Chardonnays come across as a bit light in body, but those wines have been racked to tank and are, therefore, harder to assess at this stage.
“I am pretty sure 2022 saw the coldest, driest spring since 1999,” Lemon explained. “We had tiny, bonsai-like vines because there was not enough nutrient uptake. We did have good rains between April 11 and 23, though. Flowering was uneven, with a lot of shot berries. Summer was mostly cool. At The Haven we only had two days above 90 until September 1. For us, for where we were, the heat was too late and too brief to affect things. Generally, we had more water, and canopies were healthier, whereas, in 2021, we simply ran out of water in many sites. Vineyards that were used to water really struggled in 2021.”
Speaking of the 2021s, I also had a chance to revisit the entire range from bottle. The Pinots are just as exciting as they were from barrel, while the Chardonnays confirm the strength and consistency of the year.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua...
Exclusive Content
Sign in to unlock professional wine reviews from world-renowned critics
After his adventures in Burgundy, owner Ted Lemon decided to go back to the United States and, in his own words, "wander around" looking for a suitable location for chardonnay and pinot noir. In 1993 he decided to go for it. Without the resources to immediately purchase a vineyard, this 'American dream' took a different turn. Not vineyards, but grapes - he bought them from several wineries in Anderson Valley and Sonoma Coast and made the wines at Robert Pecota in Calistoga in the north Napa Valley. Now, more than twenty years later, Ted and Heidi own about 7 hectares of vineyards and have long-term contracts with farmers for an additional 11 hectares of vines. Ted has been working on biodynamics since the early 2000s. The Littorai vineyards are not certified, but they work according to this philosophy. Littorai's wines are among the best in California. Ted Lemon makes pinot noir and chardonnay from single vineyards. Elegance, juiciness and concentration are key words in his cuvées. Wines with exceptional aging potential.