Winemaker Notes
The Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is known for Chardonnay with a flinty, crisp structure and complex nature. The 2018 is unusually forward yet well constructed, with a creamy, supple texture along with wonderfully expressive fruit.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Spiced orchard fruits, salted citrus, brioche, and toasty oak as well as hints of nuttiness all emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. Medium-bodied, it has bright acidity and a clean, vibrant, pure style that's going to gain richness and depth with a year or two of bottle age and keep for a decade.
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Wine Enthusiast
Macadamia nut and baked apple aromas meet with a hint of baking spice and a linear, steely minerality on the nose of this bottling. There's a grippy, rain-on-cement-like minerality and chalky texture to the palate, with lime skin and jasmine leading into a finish of vanilla bean.
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Wine & Spirits
Having sourced grapes from Sanford & Benedict for more than 30 vintages, Jim Clendenen knew the property better than most. His 2018 is all flint and pineapple at the outset, more about its structure than any one flavor component and yet it’s thrillingly lean and well-built, needing time in the cellar to knit. Then decant for roast chicken.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
A slightly fuller and outwardly richer version than many Chardonnays from the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, but one that at the same time retains the vibrancy and tension expected from this particular site, this fleshy, optimally ripened offering marries elements of juicy red apples, sweet baking spice and scattered notes of minerals into a tailored and very cohesive whole. Although there is no reason to forgo its many pleasures right now, it is well worth noting that it has all of the pieces in place to evolve gracefully for no less than a half-decade and very likely a bit more.
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.
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.