Winemaker Notes
Mere feet from Sanford & Benedict, Rinconada is a richer site with Chardonnays to match. A little deeper in color, the wine smells like it: Golden Delicious apple, candied ginger and pineapple make this bottling feel the most Californian of the bunch. Indeed, it offers an approachable and sunny Chardonnay with an undercurrent of peach skin, spiced almond and slight cheesiness from lees contact in oak barrels, which only bolster the wine's mouthfeel and complexity. Rinconada is a crowd favorite with a spirit of its own.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lovely richness and ripeness are balanced by great acidity and elements of minerals, toast and chalk in this creamy-textured wine. Honey, graham cracker, toasted almond and vanilla bean flavors seem to pour out of the glass.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay Rinconada Vineyard is a beautiful expression of this site, which consistently produces some of the region's most compelling Chardonnay. The nose is extroverted and oceanic, chock-full of saline-tinged aromas such as seashells, low tide and kelp that hover over a textured richness. The palate is roundly textured and impressively focused, slingshotting into a blazingly bright and layered finish propelled by intense minerality without austerity. It's one of the finer renditions of this site.
Rating: 94+ -
Vinous
The 2022 Chardonnay La Rinconada airy, gracious and expansive at first, with lovely understated richness to back it up. Citrus confit, apricot, chamomile and lightly honeyed notes fill out the layers. A touch of oiliness extends the finish effortlessly.
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Wine Spectator
Aromatic and detailed, offering a lovely mix of pear, lemongrass and vetiver on a light, elegant frame, with juicy apple and citrus flavors, plus lingering accents of Himalayan sea salt and lemon balm.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.