Davis Bynum, 2018 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Gravel Lens River West Vineyard

Did you know that chardonnay is made from pinot noir and an obscure white grape called gouais blanc?

DNA analysis in the 1990s revealed that Chardonnay is descended from Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc. Both varieties were widely planted in northeastern France in the Middle Ages, but today Gouais Blanc is nearly extinct.

Chardonnay has long been considered a variant of Pinot Noir and is often confused with Pinot Blanc. To further complicate matters, it has been called pinot blanc, pinot blanc chardonnay, and pinot chardonnay.

Greg Morthole’s compelling version of this offspring is our winning wine of the week – the Davis Bynum, 2018 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Gravel Lens River West Vineyard, 14.5%, $38. What makes this wine intriguing is its yin-yang balance — it’s rich yet crisp. Carried by a lively acidity, it has complex tropical flavors and a note of crème brûlée.

“Two things make this chardonnay stand out,” Morthole said. “The first thing you notice are her beautiful floral tones. But the second thing is seductive: when you taste it, you immediately feel the richness you expect, but a hint of acidity lurks in there. And seconds after the taste begins, it passes through your palate, keeping you coming back to determine if it’s a big, rich chardonnay or one with a little oomph. The fact is, it’s both.

The late Davis and Virginia Bynum, who founded the label, sold it to the Klein family in 2007. Rodney Strong Vineyards winemaker Tom Klein produces the Davis Bynum brand at his Healdsburg winery.

Davis Bynum is credited with being a pioneer of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. He bought a vineyard in Napa but was prevented from building a winery, so he moved to the Russian River Valley and bought an old hop kiln on a property on Westside Road. He turned it into a winery just in time for the 1973 harvest and bought grapes that year to make the first-ever single-vineyard Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley.

Morthole, 50, joined Rodney Strong as laboratory director in 2005 and was promoted to associate winemaker in 2007. He became a winemaker for the Davis Bynum brand in 2010.

Drawn to the world of wine after sipping a glass of Gran Reserva Tempranillo, Morthole sought a career in grape bottling.

“Twenty years ago my wife, Mary, and I traveled to Spain to visit a friend whose father worked for the International Organization of Vine and Wine in Madrid,” he said. “His father gave us the bottle. We opened it at Girl and Fig when it was still in Glen Ellen.

Morthole said he and Bynum had regular lunches during which they talked about wines and various topics.

“Davis was always a gentleman, and we grew to have a great relationship,” Morthole said.

Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at [email protected] or 707-521-5310.