Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Chardonnay is a blend of Santa Barbara County fruit and spent 10 months in 28% new French oak. It has a ripe, toasty bouquet of white peach, pineapple, spice, and honeysuckle. It's clean, fleshy, nicely balanced, and impeccably made as well as a good value.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay has a toasty nose with warm apple, white peach, Bosc pear and stony notes. Medium-bodied, it offers good intensity of buttery/nutty fruits in the mouth with juicy acidity and a long finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Light lemon, wet chalk and smoked white-peach aromas show on the nose of this county-wide bottling, which is all from Clone 4 grapes. It lands on the palate cleanly, with flavors of white peach, lemongrass and a touch of butterscotch toward the finish.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy, featuring dried mint and sage accents to the taut melon, apple and pear tart flavors. Doughy notes show midpalate, with a finish that offers hints of buttery richness.
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.
With a dry and mild climate cooled significantly by moist ocean fog and breezes, Santa Barbara County is a grape-grower’s dream. Part of the larger Central Coast appellation, Santa Barbara is home to Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley. The conditions here provide an opportunity for nearly effortless production of high-quality cool-climate Central Coast wines. This is also the site of the 2004 film Sideways, which caused Pinot Noir’s popularity to skyrocket and brought new acclaim to the region.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of Santa Barbara, producing wines marked by racy acidity. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc and savory Syrah are also important. The region is home to many young and enthusiastic winemakers eager to experiment with less common varieties including Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Trousseau Gris, Gamay and Cabernet Franc, making it an exciting area to watch.