Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Chardonnay Bentrock Vineyard is a striking wine that captures the essence of this rugged hillside site on the western edge of the appellation. Bright and finely sculpted, the 2017 is just loaded with character. Lemon peel, mint, white flowers, crushed rocks and intense saline notes build into the mineral-drenched finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Racines is brand-new joint venture between Justin WIllett of Tyler, Etienne de Montille from Burgundy, and Rodolphe Peters of the eponymous champagne house. It's a negociant producer, buying grapes from top vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills area of Santa Barbara County. Bentrock enjoys a high windy elevation. The wines tasted so far show a bit more exuberance than the restrained Tyler style. This Chardonnay displays a ripe but stony nose, with pungent lemony aromas. A good attack leads to a rich and weighty palate that's textured without being heavy. It's spicy, stylish, and persistent.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Bentrock Vineyard gives up gregarious, mineral-driven layers of ripe quince, white peach, apple pie, lemon cream and accents of nutmeg, chalk and river stone. It's light to medium-bodied with intense, nuanced fruits wound up with tangy acidity and finishing long, layered and textured. Yes!
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Racines Bentrock Vineyard Chardonnay brings the Old World to the Central Coast. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits loads of complex and more-than-fruit character. Enjoy its alluring aromas and flavors of savory spices, ripe fruit, and earth with a wild mix of game birds, Morels, and Portobellos. (Tasted: October 28, 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.