Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Light in the glass, this wine starts with a touch of sandalwood on the nose alongside preserved lemon, toast and oak. The palate offers a firm textural grip, then leads into tangy lemon rind, sour apple and a bit more toasted oak flavors.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Gainey Vineyard Chardonnay is smooth and delectable. Its crisp finish makes it a beautiful food pairing wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is delicious and satisfying. Enjoy its amicable aromas and flavors of dried leaves, ripe fruit, and creamy notes with anise and black pepper-accented seafood chowders. (Tasted: December 3, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.