Winemaker Notes
Pair with high fat dishes where the acid will cut through like a dream. soft & semi-soft cow or sheeps milk cheese. raw fish: sushi and/or oysters.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Extremely fresh and chalky on the nose, this blend of nine vineyards is a stunner, showing aromas of Key lime and tangerine pith across a very tightly wound, tense and energetic frame. The palate rides a bright white line of limestone, fresh lime and yellow grapefruit, with a grippy structure that engages the whole mouth in the sip. It will last for years, but it's great now.
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Wine & Spirits
Pale and salty, with a raw but appetizing line of acidity, this is a chardonnay—believe it or not—for Santorini fans. Its tension is pure Santa Rita Hills, ready to cut through oily fish like grilled mackerel.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening with restrained apple, white peach and lemongrass notes with a waft of hay, the 2015 Chardonnay White Hill has plenty of citrus and mineral appeal in the mouth, with a racy acid line and long, refreshing finish.
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.