Winemaker Notes
Styled in the manner of the great wines of the Côte d’Or, the Golden Slope is a layered and textural Chardonnay with a kiss of new oak from top vineyards sites throughout the Sta. Rita Hills. The wine is made up of nearly 40% Clos Pepe, with the remaining thirds of fruit from La Rinconada, Bentrock, and Kessler-Haak. The wine was barrel fermented in neutral (85%) and new (15%) French barrels from Tonnellerie Damy. Like all the cuvées made by Jeff Nelson and winemaker James Sparks, the Golden Slope is a small production, sustainably farmed wine, made without the use of additions or manipulations.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Barrel fermented and aged 15 months in 15% new French oak, the 2023 Chardonnay Golden Slope shows a similarly bright, racy style but with remarkable purity in its stone fruits intermixed with honeyed orange, oyster shell, white flowers, and subtle spicy wood. This blossoms with air and is medium-bodied, with a pure, layered, graceful mouthfeel, terrific balance, and a great finish. I
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Golden Slope is singing today. Powerful flavors of golden yellow apple, pineapple, chamomile, baking spices and white flowers sizzle from the glass, motivated by chalky acids and culminating in a velvety, nutty finish. This broad-shouldered Chardonnay is very much in the zone today.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay Golden Slope was matured in a portion of new wood and for a longer duration than the White Hill bottling. It leads with a riper, more stone-fruited bouquet, supplemented with floral top notes and a slightly caramelized backdrop. The palate is svelte, rich and a touch honeyed before closing with a nutty, well-delineated finish enlivened by lifted saline notes.
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.