2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Monterey-Sonoma County

Baseball superstition holds that it’s bad luck to talk about a pitcher when he’s in the middle of throwing a no-hitter. So we’ll say the next part very quietly: Martin Ray is setting a bar for value winemaking in California right now that’s practically unprecedented. 

Their 2021 Monterey-Sonoma Chardonnay is another fastball from this red-hot producer. A 92-point that offers incredible value, it cements Martin Ray as the Nolan Ryan of bang-for-your-buck bottlers.

From a nearly even split between top sites in Monterey and Sonoma, the Martin Ray team, which includes 100-point winemaking wonder Keith Emerson, have delivered a bold, ripe-fruited wine of classic California opulence that gracefully dances through to to a refreshing finish—at one of the market’s most affordable prices.

The seeming effortlessness of balance in the glass is also the result of intensive labor in the vineyards. That was the spirit in which Martin Ray—a pioneer of California viticulture alongside legends like Donn Chappellet and Robert Mondavi—founded his winery in the 1940s, and it continues in his name today. 

Ray wanted to craft Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to rival the best of Europe when most would have found that notion laughable. He cut yields and refused to irrigate in the vineyard, and he was even stricter in the cellar, sometimes holding wines back a decade until he felt they were ready to go to market. 

That dedication to quality landed Martin Ray wines at the White House table under both the Johnson and Nixon administrations, and started a legacy that continues with 92-point gems like this one. All harmony and elegance, this Chardonnay floored us at the tasting table, and it’ll thrill you, too.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 13.80%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2026
• 100% Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 45°
• Screw cap