Winemaker Notes
Great depth and precision, this wine comes from the original vines planted on their own roots in 1971. Stone fruit, yellow apple, white flowers, subtle savory notes, and a chalky textural component. Clay soils intermixed with shale and diatomaceous offer subtle richness framed by an elegantly balanced bright acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard opens with roasted almond and flinty streaks that take some time to give way to baked peaches, pie crust, honeycomb, mushroom powder and citrus blossom. The palate is medium-bodied, satiny and youthfully coiled with taut, flinty fruits, and it boasts a long, ethereal finish. Rating: 94+
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Jeb Dunnuck
Toasted bread, lemon curd, white flowers, and spice all define the 2018 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, another pretty, borderline racy/tart Chardonnay that’s going to benefit from bottle age. Hide bottles for 4-5 years and it will be interesting to see where this goes. It’s certainly outstanding, yet also certainly not for the instant gratification crowd either. Rating: 92+
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 superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.