Winemaker Notes
Hailing from the deep sandy soils of the Solomon Hills Vineyard, this wine revels in its proximity to Pacific Ocean. White peaches mingle with lemon zest, caramel, and sea spray on the nose. On the palate this Chardonnay offers a precise mineral quality with balanced acidity and hints of toasty oak. Long sur lie aging means this wine will hit its peak in 5 to 10 years.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The nose is complex and inviting, with aromas of lemon pith, oyster shells and mandarins. The palate is medium-bodied with bright acidity, giving notes of grapefruit, grilled pineapple, graphite and lemon balm. Tightly bound, with a minerally and reductive edge. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Chardonnay Solomon Hills Estate comes from a great site in the Santa Maria Valley and spent 12 months in 40% new French oak. It has a classic Old World Chardonnay reductive character in its ripe stone fruits, crushed stone, buttered citrus, and spicy wood-driven aromatics. This carries over to the palate, where the wine is medium-bodied, has a concentrated, layered mouthfeel, plenty of richness and depth, and a great finish. It's a ripe, powerful Chardonnay that holds onto a terrific sense of focus and elegance.
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Wine Spectator
Offers intense lemon flavors at the start, with notes of preserved lemon, lemon curd and zest, plus accents of marmalade, pear pastry and fresh, juicy Honeycrisp apple. Salted butterscotch and cardamom details linger on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Chardonnay was sourced from a single block of Dijon clones planted in pure sand soils. It is quite ripe and tropical on the nose with herbal flourishes. The palate is round and plush, finishing with decadent, oak-derived notes of white chocolate and caramel. This will appeal to readers who prefer a more voluptuous expression of Chardonnay, whereas the Bien Nacido offering offers more focus and linearity.
The Solomon Hills Vineyard was planted by the Miller Family in the late 1990's. Known for pinot noir and chardonnay, Solomon Hills found its tenor early on in its relatively young life among a broad range of talented winemakers who found its vibrant, youthful flavor profile exhilarating, and, at times, profound.
The soils of Solomon Hills Vineyards are composed primarily of ocean derived sandy loams. Because it is the western most vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley appellation, it is the coolest of all vineyards in this growing region. With the Pacific coastline only miles away, a constant maritime influence results in wines of precise acidity, bright fruit and an inherent elegance.
The Solomon Hills Vineyards takes its title from neighboring hills named for Solomon Pico, a celebrated bandit who in the 1850's traveled frequently along the stretch of El Camino Real that is known today as Santa Maria Valley.
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 lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.