After a hiatus in 2022, we are back to making a SRH blend of Chardonnays. If 2023 was cool for Sauvignon Blanc in Happy Canyon, it was downright cold in the Sta Rita Hills, with our Chardonnays being picked into the middle of October. This wine is blended from 55% 10Ninths Vineyard (formerly Hilliard-Bruce), 30% Rita’s Crown and 15% Radian Vineyard. The wine was aged in 100% French oak barrels (15% new) for 15 months before bottling.
We love to blend Chardonnays from various sites to increase complexity, and this is a perfect example of creating complexity from disparate sources.10Ninths provides open-knit flavors and textures from a very cool site, while Rita’s crown provides tropical flair and power, and Radian provides incisive acidity, and extraordinary length. This wine is extremely limited, with production under 175 cases produced. It will not last.