Winemaker Notes
Golden peach and lemon oil. Touch of flinty complexity. Fresh baked brioche with apricot. Chamomile notes and candied ginger. Stone fruit and acacia honey on the suave and generous palate. Luminous acidity forms the perfect balance to the notes of sweet cream that emerge on the long and luscious finish. Elegant, refined and full of the tantalizing energy that makes chardonnays from this area so singular and remarkable.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming 80% from Sta. Rita Hills, with some from Solomon Hills, the 2016 Chardonnay Estate is a juicy, racy Chardonnay that has terrific purity and elegance. Citrus, hints of white flowers, brioche and spiced pear notes all emerge from this charming, elegant Chardonnay. It has a terrific saltiness and a more rounded texture than the 2015.
Barrel Sample: 90-92 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Estate spent 11 months in 38% new French oak. It has an open nose of ripe peach, apricot, toast, gunflint and pie crust with dried chamomile and honey-drizzled apple slices. Medium-bodied, it offers concentrated stone fruit and honey-nut character in the mouth, with seamless acidity and a long, textured finish. 1,100 cases produced.
Wines defined by place, style and time. In the southwest corner of Sta. Rita Hills AVA lies a rugged, windswept, coastal vineyard, called The Hilt Estate; estate grower producer of stunning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reflective of this dynamic corner of California.
Pushing the limits; in the farthest southwest reach of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA is home to Radian & Bentrock Vineyards, these vineyards dictate The Hilt style.
The numerous microclimates and unique soils provide a multilayered backdrop to create 3 unique expressions: Estate, The Guards, and Single Vineyards.
In 2014, Matt Dees, Ruben Solorzano & team took on operation and farming of Radian and Bentrock Vineyards and shifted to precise sustainable & organic farming to transform and revitalize the soil.
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.