Winemaker Notes
Los Alamos Vineyard dates back to the late 1960s and is where Chanin started back in 2007 when they purchased one ton of their Chardonnay. The sandy soils, high elevation (900ft) of the blocks, and cool marine influence gives the wine great freshness, bright fruit and complicity.
These grapes were hand harvested early in the morning at 22.9 brix. They were pressed and directly put into French oak barrels (10% new) to ferment. The wine stayed there for 14 months on its lees and was then racked and lightly fined before being bottled unfiltered in March 2019.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Subtle aromas of nectarine, lemon and pear flesh are pinpoint in precision and utterly pure on the nose of this bottling. The palate is tense in structure yet more generous in flavor that other Chanin bottlings, offering yellow pear, buttered apple, toasted oak and, on the finish, pale-caramel flavors.
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Wine & Spirits
Grown in the sandy soils of Los Alamos, this has a comfortable, effortless feel, from its nutty spiced-apple scent to the mildly oak-driven flavors of caramelized pear. It’s minerally, layered and precise, with a linear acidity that draws the wine to a tart and detailed finish. For roast chicken.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Starting out, the 2017 Chardonnay Los Alamos Vineyard comes from the sandy soils of the Los Alamos region and spent 15 months in 10% new French oak. Its medium gold color is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of caramelized stone fruits, white flowers, honeysuckle, and brioche. Rich, medium-bodied, and textured, with good acidity and terrific balance, it's a gem of a Chardonnay...
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Los Alamos Vineyard, made using 15% new oak, has an open nose of toast, hazelnut and river stone with quince, warm white peach, honeycomb, honeysuckle and citrus peel. Light to medium-bodied, it has a wonderful core of warm, savory accented fruits, with juicy acidity and a long, layered finish. Yum!
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.
With a dry and mild climate cooled significantly by moist ocean fog and breezes, Santa Barbara County is a grape-grower’s dream. Part of the larger Central Coast appellation, Santa Barbara is home to Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley. The conditions here provide an opportunity for nearly effortless production of high-quality cool-climate Central Coast wines. This is also the site of the 2004 film Sideways, which caused Pinot Noir’s popularity to skyrocket and brought new acclaim to the region.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of Santa Barbara, producing wines marked by racy acidity. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc and savory Syrah are also important. The region is home to many young and enthusiastic winemakers eager to experiment with less common varieties including Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Trousseau Gris, Gamay and Cabernet Franc, making it an exciting area to watch.