Winemaker Notes
The Santa Maria Valley is nestled along the California coast in a rare east-west mountain range, unlike the more common north-south valleys. This creates a giant funnel from the Pacific Ocean, ushering a cooling marine influence into the region and a very long growing season which allows the grapes to retain a high natural acidity resulting in extraordinary flavor. This Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay is rich and creamy with golden mango, pineapple, yellow peach and honeysuckle flower flavors, plus a hint of tangerine. Oak barrel aging brings notes of buttered biscuits and vanilla bean to the palate and finish of the crowd-favorite white wine.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Creamy and lush, with salted butterscotch, vanilla cream and apricot preserves that show nutmeg, cardamom and gingersnap notes, plus firm, juicy acidity. A toasted, salted almond detail comes in on the finish. Drink now. 6,077 cases made.
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.