Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard contains the last fruit from the W block of very old vine Chardonnay, which has since been pulled out for replanting. It's scented of meringue, baker's yeast and raw almonds with a pretty core of fresh quince and Meyer lemon. Bright, tangy and ultra fresh, it opens its flavors slowly to ripe citrus and nutty accents, sporting a silky texture and long, energetic, panna cotta-laced finish. Best after 2022.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard is classic Bien Nacido, with its iodine, mineral, and chalky notes as well as ripe apple and pear-like fruits. These carry to a concentrated, focused, vibrant Chardonnay with good mid-palate density, bright acidity, and a masculine, structured style on the palate. It's borderline racy and acidic, yet it has good depth, balance, and length, and it's going to age beautifully. Rating: 94+
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Wine & Spirits
This 2020 is a straight arrow, mildly smoky with spicy cinnamon-toast scents and a nutty, lactic frame. The flavors are lean and reserved, with a lithe energy rippling through the wine and hinting at its potential. It is, for now, all about its build, solid and structural, needing time to come out of its shell.
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.