2015 - Bentrock Chardonnay, Sandhi, Sta. Rita Hills

The 2015 Chardonnay Bentrock wafts from the glass with a beautifully complex bouquet of macadamia nuts, wheat toast, lemon oil and preserved lemon, framed by a touch of smoky reduction. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, with a glossily textural attack, a bright spine of acidity and immense levels of concentration and intensity. The long, tongue-tingling finish is simultaneously saline and chalky. In 2015, this is my favorite of the Sandhi Chardonnays.

North-facing vineyard, cooler than Sanford & Benedict becuase it has higher elevation. Shale.Reductive smoky-bacon aromas on the nose (due to low nutrients in the ferment). The reductive element is dominant on the palate, while there is gorgeous lemon fruit beneath. This is a stylised and lean experience and the rest of the wine is a little suppressed, but this is to criticise exactly what makes it so appealing! Exotic and powerful. (RH)