Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Aged 15 months in 20% new French oak and bottled unfiltered, the 2016 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is straight-up sensational juice. Offering loads of ripe orchard fruits, orange blossom, pineapple cream, and hints of brioche, it's layered, seamless and pure on the palate, with beautifully integrated acidity. It has everything you could want from a Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay and will drink beautifully for 10-15 years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard wafts from the glass with aromas of lemon oil, grapefruit, citrus blossom and white currants. On the palate, the wine is supple, medium-bodied and delicately textured, with lovely purity and chalky back-end grip, but seemingly a little withdrawn after its recent bottling. Given the site and the winemaker, I may be underestimating it.
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.