Winemaker Notes
Sanford and Benedict grapes are known for being beautifully balanced, and our chardonnay is no exception. This wine is effortlessly integrated with aromas of grapefruit and lemon curd leading the way, with subtle layers of little-leaf sage, sunflower seed butter, and dried pine needles emerging with air. On the palate, flinty minerality meets rich, round tones of crème brûlée for a refined and lingering finish.
This white can elevate dishes such as grilled artichokes with a pine nut aioli or just about any seafood like halibut with brown butter or oysters. For a more rich pairing, match with a ricotta ravioli or stuffed game birds.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
From a great site on the southwestern side of the appellation, the 2022 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is 100% Chardonnay that was whole cluster pressed and aged 18 months in 100% new French oak 350-liter barrels. Medium gold-hued, it offers orchard fruits, honeyed flowers, spicy wood, and chalky minerality. It's medium-bodied, has a focused, pure, chiseled mouthfeel, beautifully integrated acidity and oak, and a great finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
While decidedly a more hands-on style than many contemporaries, the 2022 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard offers an alternate but timeless viewpoint on this historic site through a sumptuous, harmonious and ultimately pleasing style. Rich, spice-driven aromas of cinnamon, macadamia nuts and white chocolate foreshadow a rich, plush, decent palate that finishes with a delicious punch and incredible length, concluding with salted caramel and butterscotch notes.
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.