One never knows what to expect when one is getting wines from a wine club and the second wine that I picked up recently from the Fine Wine Source has raised my eyebrow.  I always expect something interesting from this club, because when you walk in to the shop, the shop is void of every name brand that one sees at grocery stores, party stores and most of the big box shops as well.  They actually go out of their way to look for something unique and while they have some wonderful unicorn wines, they also find some very interesting items in the popular price range.  I mean what one would spend for a “name brand,” and very few wineries have big budgets for advertising, sometimes one can find a wine that has the nuances one would expect from a wine twice or thrice the price. 

Broadway Vineyards feel that they embody the essence of the Sonoma lifestyle.  In 2002 Jim and Marilyn Hybiske found property just two miles from the Historic Square in downtown Sonoma.  Six of their friends joined them to develop a small vineyard focusing on Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah.  Work began on the vineyard in 2004 and the first harvest was in 2006.  The results each year got better and better and the wine started being appreciated by others than the original investors and they started to take off.  Since the estate is small, there is only a finite amount of wine that can be produced.  The winemaker for Broadway Vineyards is Philippe Langner who began his career at Chateau Clarke, a Rothschild property in Bordeaux, France.

The three different varietals were chosen very carefully to be planted on the estate from day one to take advantage of the soil and the cool nights and warm days and the area was perfect for the three cool-climate varietals.  The Broadway Vineyards Chardonnay 2015 was hand harvested at the beginning of September, 2015.  The wine was barrel aged for ten months, bottled in mid-June of 2016 and then spent nine months in the bottle before being released.  There were only one-hundred-sixty-two cases of this wine produced.  The tasting notes for this wine suggest a tropical, floral nose with subtle tastes of peaches and apricots, described as rich and opulent with hints of butter and a layered lingering finish. I think that I will have to try this wine sooner, before they sell out.