Shop Wine

wines

Cut grass, dark green herbs and yellow apple aromas show on the nose of this bottling. It’s very lean on the palate with a zippy, energetic acidity that cuts right through the cement, crushed stone and serrano flavors, engaging the palate on all sides.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEThe 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Au Naturel is laced with hints of pear, mint, chamomile, spice and apricot. Racy and textured in feel, the Au Naturel has plenty of richness to play off the natural vivacity of the year.Antonio Galloni | 92 AGAll varietal, the 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Au Naturel offers a touch more oomph in its white peach, melon, white flowers, and honeysuckle-like aromas and flavors. It’s rich, medium-bodied, balanced, and certainly an outstanding expression of Sauvignon Blanc.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JD

This is very unique in character, with sliced apple, honeysuckle and lavender. Spearmint, too. It’s medium-bodied with some pine and cooked-apple character in the palate. Flavorful, yet sophisticated and thoughtful. Minerally, compact and focused. 31-year-old vines. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSPacks precise flavors of ripe peach, apricot and salted preserved lemon, with lime accents and a savory thread of minerality. Offers a vibrant mouthful of acidity that keeps the flavors in focus, while a hint of dried lemon verbena peeks in on the finish. Drink now through 2029. 1,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2021 Chardonnay One Sixteen, matured for 14 months in 34% new French oak, takes some time to shake off its youthful crème brûlée and allspice tones to reveal apricot, beeswax and honeysuckle aromas. The medium-bodied palate offers powerful fruit and oak spice and satisfying freshness to lift the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

A ripe youthful yellow hue, the 2021 Chardonnay VGW is fantastic out of the gates, with ripe aromas of white smoke, lemon balm, salty earth, and white peach. From all volcanic soils, the 2021 Chardonnay VGW is ripe through the palate with generous notes of salted pineapple fruit and a rounded feel, although it’s clean as a whistle and has a fresh lift of acidity. It is drinking wonderfully now and will drink well over the next 5-7 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JD

Looking at the flagship estate Viognier, the 2021 Viognier Estate boasts a vibrant, medium to full-bodied, incredibly focused and mineral-driven profile that reminds me of a Condrieu from pure granite soils. Tangerine oil, honeyed flowers, brioche, and citrus notes all emerge on the nose, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless mouthfeel, and one heck of a great finish. I finished my note with "Love it." As I’ve written in the past, no one in the New World does Viognier better than John Alban.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2021 Viognier Estate is tremendously expressive and vibrant! It’s layered and complex on the nose, segueing from savory matchstick to exotic, musky perfume, candied peaches and tangerine oil. The palate offers flesh and unctuousness without fattiness, full flavors that are tempered by a powerful textural bite and flinty streaks and energetic acidity that combine to create an alluring, shimmery finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

(Drink date 2022 - 2032) “The Diatom 2021 Chardonnay has inviting poached pears, quince and lemongrass aromas with touches of baker’s yeast, honeycomb and acacia. The medium-bodied palate balances generous, exotic fruits and a touch of textural grip with bright waves of acidity, finishing long and flavorful. This Chardonnay is dynamic and so delicious.”Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe Diatom 2021 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is another home run from Greg Brewer. Stunning in its depth and overall intensity, the 2021 is bright and mineral, with plenty of citrus and floral character, but also a good amount of textural depth to keep things in balance. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s layers and overall pedigree. As always, the style here favors cold fermentation, no malolactic fermentation and very short aging in steel prior to bottling. In 2021, all of the fruit is from Los Alamos. Best of all, the 2021 is a fabulous value.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGVery crisp on the nose, this bottling by Greg Brewer pops with tropical flowers and fruits of jasmine, plumeria and guava on the nose, with a crushed seashell minerality. The tropical character rides through the palate, offering more plumeria and guava flavors in a balanced approach.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

The textural component to this wine, and all of those from Rhys, is worth the price alone. The nose starts with aromas of lemon curd, baked orange and a light nutty tone before the palate’s chalky texture engages the entire mouth as citrus flavors abound.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe 2021 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains is a peek at the stellar produce of Rhys’s 2021 single-vineyard white wines. The nose opens with fresh, racy aromas of sea spray, lemon curd and Granny Smith apple. The mid-palate displays a level of creamy richness that takes substantial cellaring to unlock in the rest of the lineup. The signature tension and angularity of the Rhys style are present, albeit with a welcomed softness and generosity of texture. Readers holding this admirable array of wines should start here and hold off on the single-site wines for at least a few more years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPI love the nose on the 2021 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains, which feels lifted and briny with aromas of wildflowers, white peaches, honeycomb, and candle smoke. A blend of three vineyards, it’s medium-bodied to full-bodied and rounded through the midpalate, with a silky mouthfeel and a long, savory finish. As with the Anderson Valley Chard, this is going to drink well now or over the coming 6-7 years, and it’s a great value.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2021 Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) is a gorgeous appellation level wine, and also a wine that will drink well with minimal cellaring, unlike most of the 2021s. Lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers and chamomile all grace this soft, open-knit Chardonnay from Rhys. Bright saline notes extend the super-expressive finish. Terrific.Vinous Media | 92 VMBright and distinctive, with notes of tangerine, orange blossoms and lemon curd that show a hint of toasted sesame. Offers aromatic details of fennel, nutmeg and dried ginger, with a note of sea spray and a long, expressive finish. Drink now. 1,200 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Tasted at the beginning of 2023, a reductive quality was still obscuring bright, penetrating green apple and kiwi flavours with a smoky, earthen veil. Still, it’s a gorgeously sleek, richly textured wine with a pulsating core of acidity and salty mineral intensity.Decanter | 95 DECLovely texture and density, showing dried apple, fresh ginger and pastry dough. Layered, with phenolic tension. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills has alluring aromas of white peach, freshly baked bread, panna cotta and matchstick with savory undertones. The medium-bodied palate has dynamic flavors that range from ripe fruit to matchstick and saline. It has a focused spine of acidity, a pleasing touch of textural grip and a very long, layered finish. It’s complex yet delicious straight from the bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2021 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is terrific. Citrus confit, white flowers, almond, chamomile and dried herbs all run through this super-expressive Chardonnay. There’s a touch of phenolic intensity, along with a kiss of reduction, that add character. Almost all of this fruit is now estate.Vinous Media | 92 VMComplex and seamless, there’s plenty to admire in this white wine. Shows spiced, poached pear, dried apple, grilled lemon and fresh tangerine flavors that are juicy and generous, with details of sage, white pepper and toasted sesame seed on the finish. Drink now. 4,536 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThere’s a strong streak of tarry minerality to the nose of this bottling, which shows brisk lemon peel and even petrol on the tightly wound nose. The palate is stony as well, with a potent acidity slicing through lemon-peel flavors. Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE

The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc L’Après-Midi, blended with 8% Sémillon and matured in about 15% new French oak, features ringing tones of peach, kiwi, tarragon and white lily with undertones of candle smoke, flint and petrichor. The palate opens with pure fruit before unfurling expansive, savory accents, and its fresh acidity balances its satiny, mouth-coating texture. Its juxtaposition of concentrated fruit and shimmery tension draws you back to the glass for another dynamic sip, and although it’s approachable now, it will develop complexity in bottle over the next decade. 2,163 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

A bright yellow hue with green highlights, the 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard is expressive in its lacy perfume of jasmine, tarragon, salty earth, and bright green apple. Medium-bodied, it offers beautiful, pristine, ripe fruit, a pithy texture, and a delicate arch to its rounded mouthfeel, with no harshness. It’s refined and graceful, with a floral flourish of lemon blossoms lasting long on the finish. Drink 2024-2034.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2022 Lark Block bottling of chardonnay from Durant Vineyard is truly one of the finest white wines I have yet had the pleasure to taste from Kelley Fox. The bouquet is very precise and has a gently exotic floral sheen to it, offering up scents of pear, casaba melon, fresh almond, a beautiful base of soil tones, lemon peel, orange blossoms and a touch of honeysuckle. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with superb depth at the core lovely soil inflection, a fine spine of acidity and a long, vibrant and impeccably balanced finish. This is very easy to drink out of the blocks, but there is so much more lurking here right below the surface that I would definitely try to give the wine three or four years in the cellar to allow its secondary layers of complexity to start to emerge. It is a great wine. (Drink between 2024 - 2040)John Gilman | 94 JGThe 2022 Chardonnay Durant Vineyard blossoms in the glass as wildflowers and crushed apples give way to mint and crushed stone suggestions. This opens with a lovely inner sweetness and supple texture contrasted with zesty acids and crisp orchard fruits. It tapers off with amazing tension, grippy and cheek puckering with a citrusy concentration as savory herbs and a sensation of liquid stone fade.Vinous Media | 93 VM

With only a tiny proportion of oak (8% of the volume), the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Batch 111 The House features classic grapefruit and grassy aromas, plus hints of snow pea and pineapple. It’s medium to full-bodied, plump, round and easy to drink, with enough citrus zest on the finish to keep me coming back for additional sips.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RPFruity and herbal influences vie for dominance in this full-bodied, relatively crisp wine. Opening with cut grass and parsley aromas, the wine moves to vivid lemon and grapefruit flavors on a lively texture. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

Lastly, the 2022 Chardonnay Rosemary’s Vineyard is another Arroyo Grande release that saw 14 months in 30% new French oak. It’s a slightly more savory, masculine styled effort that has both citrus and stone fruits, lots of crushed stone minerality, honeyed white flowers, blanched almonds, and subtle spicy oak aromas and flavors. It has rock-solid concentration, bright yet integrated acidity, and a gorgeous finish. It’s up with the finest Chardonnay in the vintage.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDThe 2022 Chardonnay Rosemary’s Vineyard is another gorgeous Chardonnay from Brian Talley and his team. Complex and multi-dimensional, the Rosemary’s is wonderfully dynamic from start to finish. Layers of rich orchard fruit intermingle with bright acids and light tropical accents that add raciness. I especially admire its complex, multi-dimensional personality.Vinous Media | 95 VMA stunningly beautiful Chardonnay, the Rosemary’s is from the coolest site, the cool Talley Estate. Planted in 1987 to complement the Pinot Noir planted across the estate driveway. Within three to five years, this wine will become ethereal. Beguiling aromatics of lemon verbena, English hawthorn and concentrated grilled fleshy pineapple with a kiss of herbaceous wild tarragon. The texture is extraordinary, and 14 months of sur lie elevage in 30% new French oak has imparted intense lemon curd flavours, lemon oil and grilled lemon peel. There’s a soaring minerality marked by briny sea air, bright white pepper and savoury notes of cardamom mark the finish. (Tasted from bottle #5631.)Decanter | 95 DECA generous, plush, delicious wine with ample baked-fruit flavors and spicy vanilla bean accents. Medium-bodied with energizing acidity and a lingering finish. Estate grown on the Talley family’s original vineyard site. Sustainable. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JSAged for 14 months in 30% new French oak, the 2022 Chardonnay Rosemary’s Vineyard splits the difference between a fresh, vibrant frame and toasty, punchy richness. The nose is reminiscent of a classic California Chardonnay, albeit with notably more verve and zest. The palate is powerful, yellow-fruited and creamy, leading to a finish that combines butterscotch-laden power with saline, stony refreshment.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

From the cool climate, Talley Vineyards in the SLO Coast is a sterling example of saline minerality and finely etched citrus fruits that true coastal regions can produce—aromatics of grilled lemon, sea air, petrichor, and crushed slate. The palate is linear, with intense Meyer lemon pulp, flinty lime peel, and tangy grilled pineapple flesh—gorgeous intensity.Decanter | 94 DECA mellow, ripe but balanced wine that’s super smooth, fresh and lingering in the finish. Medium-bodied with good acidity and subtle baked apples, lemon zest, toast and minerals. Barrel fermented with native yeast. Sustainable. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JS

Oozing with character, this succulent and mouthwatering white offers a fleshy, juicy mix of perfectly ripe peach, mango and lemon bar flavors, with fresh herbal accents of lemon verbena and vetiver. Offers accents of freshly grated ginger, tangerine and crunchy sea salt on the finish. Drink now through 2036. 7,442 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSLight butter and vanilla bean aromas lead to vivid, racy lemon curd, lime zest and cream flavors in this well-balanced, medium-bodied wine. The most affordable of the Ramey chardonnays, it still delivers an elegant texture and delicious flavors. Drink now.James Suckling | 92 JS