Winemaker Notes
Hailing from the deep sandy soils of the Solomon Hills Vineyard, this Chardonnay showcases vibrant aromas of lemon curd, saline, and wet stone, complemented by delicate notes of stone fruit and tropical flowers. The palate is defined by bright acidity, a firm structure, and impeccable balance. A long, clean finish leaves a lasting impression of freshness and minerality. You can expect this wine to age well for at least five to eight years and potentially more.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Bursting with energy and life yet so confidently centered, this is a chardonnay for the cellar that will also reward enjoyment in the short-term. Compressed pineapple, rum cake, grilled vanilla pod, hot slate and white tea flavors are woven into a tapestry that fans out on the palate yet retains its momentum with impressive detail.
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Vinous
The 2023 Chardonnay Estate Solomon Hills Vineyard is a gorgeous wine with multidimensional tropical nuances and creamy layers. Focused minerality and a mouthwatering wash of acidity coat the palate as opposed to cutting in a laser beam. Chalk, chamomile, white pepper and lemon zest flesh out in the glass. This is a wine for readers who appreciate Chardonnays built on nuance and texture more than overt fruit.
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Wine Spectator
This stunning version bursts forth with intense notes of grilled lemon, poached pear and litsea oil. There’s a wonderful thread of aromatics, including orange blossoms, toffee and caramelized brown sugar, but the focused acidity and fresh flavors dominate and persist on the epic finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Chardonnay is a more nuanced, poised and floral expression of Chardonnay versus the more incisive and persistent Bien Nacido. Suave, soft and layered in the mouth, it develops an elegantly tensile energy as it opens in the glass. Similarly, it tightens and brightens up on the finish before lingering with understated, citrus-driven and oceanic notes. While I preferred the drive and energy of the Bien Nacido bottling, I suspect this will develop another gear of complexity with additional time in the cellar. Rating: 93+
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2023 Chardonnay Solomon Hills Vineyard offers ripe stone fruits, honeyed Meyer lemon, white flowers, and loamy earth-like nuances that emerge from the glass. This is a softer, more rounded expression with medium-bodied richness, nicely integrated acidity, and a good finish. Barrel fermented and aged 16 months in 40% new French oak, it's an approachable Chardonnay.
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.