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SKU 970885
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The 2022 Chardonnay La Rinconada Vineyard is stellar. Bright floral accents meld into a core of lemon peel, crushed rocks, slate, mint and white pepper. High-toned and chiseled, the Rinconada impresses with its tension and drive. There’s just a touch of reduction, but it works well here. The Rinconada shows Justin Willett at his best.
Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.
Country
United States
Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.
Region
California
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Appellation
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara is home to many of California's most sought after wines, with a powerful reputation for superbly crafted, old world style big, flavorful and complex red wines. The white wine industry in the region is growing, too, with many wineries within Santa Barbara successfully experimenting with several classic white wine grape varietals. As in much of California, Santa Barbara benefits from the blazing west coast sunshine, coupled with cooling Pacific Ocean breezes and fogs, which help to temper the grapes and slow the ripening process, thus ensuring more flavor and aroma in the resulting wines. Although Santa Barbara is a relatively young wine region, it is home to many wineries who are extremely dedicated when it comes to demonstrating just how good their terroir is, and how characterful their region's wines can be.
VM95pts
Vinous Media
The 2022 Chardonnay La Rinconada Vineyard is stellar. Bright floral accents meld into a core of lemon peel, crushed rocks, slate, mint and white pepper. High-toned and chiseled, the Rinconada impresses with its tension and drive. There's just a touch of reduction, but it works well here. The Rinconada shows Justin Willett at his best.
WA94pts
Wine Advocate
A substantial step up from the introductory Chardonnay bottlings, the 2022 Chardonnay La Rinconada Vineyard offers a flashy yet nuanced nose of honeyed orchard fruits, citrus blossoms and crushed stones. The palate is tensile and gently powerful, showing this site's quintessential combination of textural breadth and mineral cut. It finishes on a refined, chalky note, straddling energetic lift and a lovely, soft allure. This was buttoned up tight when I tasted it, and judging by Tyler's track record with this site, I suspect it will improve after a year or so in bottle and should have no problem aging for a decade or more.
Winery Notes
The most powerful, yet elegant chardonnay of the spring releases. Perceptible texture gives the wine great depth while remaining extremely focused with its long, persistent finish. Notes of yellow fruit, chamomile and anise.
