Winemaker Notes
Fresh fruit and floral aromas dominate the nose; pink grapefruit, tangerine, citrus blossom, and apple flavors are complemented by a bit of wet stone. The oak influence creates a nice mid-palate, the wine shows a balanced acidity that carries through the long finish.
Vegan
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Lithe and powerful, featuring a vibrant core of apple and peach pastry flavors, with dried tropical fruit accents. Buttery midpalate, delivering a plush finish that lingers with intense spiciness. Drink now through 2024.
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Wine Enthusiast
For such a widely available wine, this is an extremely reliable bet. Aromas of clean and light lemon, nectarine and sea salt are pleasantly mellow, while the palate offers balanced brushes of lemon peel and white peach, wrapped in a soft yet acid-boosted texture.
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 lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.