Winemaker Notes
The Wenzlau Vineyard Chardonnay holding is farmed by the Racines team using organic practices. Wenzlau Vineyard sits surrounded by Rita’s Crown, Mt. Carmel, and Sea Smoke Vineyards, on a steep, dramatic hillside just above the Santa Ynez River and across from the famed Sanford & Benedict Vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Chardonnay Wenzlau Family Vineyard is gracious, elegant and wonderfully lifted. Crushed rocks, flowers, citrus, mint and white pepper all grace this exquisite wine. Readers will find a taut Chardonnay that emphasizes mineral and saline intensity. It's a terrific wine from one of the most evocative sectors in the Sta. Rita Hills.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Chardonnay Wenzlau Vineyard offers a lovely combination of radiant mineral aromas against an elegantly waxy backdrop framed with mossy, savory accents. The palate shows lees-derived richness, pleasantly filling out its otherwise chalky, linear frame. This energy runs through the finish, adding rich, baked apple notes and additional decadence with further oxygen exposure. Rating: 93+
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Wine Spectator
Generous and fresh, with flavors of grilled lemon, pineapple, peach and grilled bread. Mouthwatering acidity gives this white plenty of verve, while accents of ginger and honeycomb linger. Drink now. 256 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 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.