Shibumi Knoll · Corazon · 2022
2022 Shibumi Knoll Corazon del Rio Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
A place on the list
You already know Buena Tierra. Corazon is the same Old Wente bloodline, planted 2008, same Thomas Rivers Brown cellar — opened so a six-pack can actually land on a list. Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 95 points. $40 / $240.
Winery SRP $67 per bottle
One-case minimum unless a bulk break is shown at checkout. Partner price is the JS Selections offer, not a required resale price.
Why this bottle belongs on the list
Two selling points.
Then the market.
A younger block with the same spine.
Walk the Russian River floor and you hit two Shibumi doors. Buena Tierra made the reputation. Corazon is the one a six-pack can actually land — same Old Wente bloodline, planted 2008, same TRB protocol: native yeast, full ML, long lees, never fined or filtered.
95 LPB. $40 the six-pack bottle.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown called the 2022 old-school Chardonnay in the best possible way: pear tart, beeswax, a creamy palate with just enough snap. That is why the $40 / $240 special stays locked.
Professional scores
What the press wrote on this vintage.
Named critic scores on this vintage. These are press ratings, not the Wine-Searcher aggregate.
The buyer's perspective
What the guest
hears first.
Staff line: Shibumi, Thomas Rivers Brown, the second heart of Buena Tierra. $40 in sixes. Pour it with roast bird.
Winemaker's corner
Wine Spectator cover · Napa's Top Gun · Shibumi Knoll
Thomas
Rivers Brown
Don Ross met Thomas Rivers Brown in a tasting group after moving to the valley. Brown offered to make the wines. He has been in the Shibumi cellar since the 2010 vintage — the same hand as Buena Tierra, now on Corazon.
Joann Serafini runs the house. Don was an Apollo mission-planning engineer who bought a two-acre knoll north of St. Helena in 2003, a cottage, and three-quarters of an acre of Cabernet. Shibumi — effortless perfection — is the word they put on the gate.
Corazon exists because the original 1972 Buena Tierra block cannot supply every account. The 2008 planting carries the same bloodline into a six-pack the floor can actually buy.
Corazon del Rio
Russian River fruit.
St.
Helena standards.
Buena Tierra sits on the Russian River Valley floor. Shibumi's cellar in St. Helena is where Brown turns that fruit into orchard fruit, spice, and a satiny line that does not need makeup.
Sorted and pressed the morning of harvest, into barrel the same day. Native yeast, full malolactic, aged on lees for its entire life, one racking, never fined or filtered.
The 2022 is 14.2% alcohol, 16 months in 20% new French oak, 250 cases. It is built for the table now, not a reduced version of Buena Tierra.
2022 in the glass
Orchard fruit.
Lees silk.
Quiet oak.
Ripe orchard fruit, citrus oil, and a cool-stone line typical of Russian River Old Wente. Fresh, complete, satin-textured, with enough mid-palate for roast bird and scallop equally. 14.2% alcohol, 16 months in 20% new French oak, unfined and unfiltered. Drinkable now, not fragile.
Menu and service
Built for a serious table.
- Roast chicken
- Seared scallops
- Lemon-herb pasta
Serve in a proper stem. Taste on opening and give the wine air if the structure asks for it.
Staff pairing clip
The BEST Dinner Chicken Recipes | Gordon Ramsay
The tableside introduction
“Shibumi Corazon, Thomas Rivers Brown, 95 Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Same bloodline as Buena Tierra, $40 in sixes. Pour it with roast chicken.”
Order the case
The second heart of Buena Tierra.
Thomas Rivers Brown, Old Wente, 250 cases, $40 a bottle in sixes.
One-case minimum unless a bulk break is shown at checkout. Partner price is the JS Selections offer, not a required resale price.
