Current Release
2023 Chardonnay, Black Label 750ML
This wine is a blend of our most dramatic and powerful Chardonnay barrels from the vintage. In 2023, the Black Label is comprised of grapes from three of the most extreme, wind-battered, sites in Sta. Rita Hills (or anywhere for that matter): rocky, windswept Bentrock (50%), salty, windy Radian (33%) and steep, diatomaceous Rita’s Crown (17%). These difficult sites produce small clusters of thick skinned, tiny berry Chardonnay that has massive concentration, but also very high acids and a resounding mineral streak. The 2023 wine was fermented and aged on its lees in French oak barriques (83% new) with malolactic fermentation occurring spontaneously in barrel, and a finished pH of 3.34, with a TA of 6.8 g/L. The intensity of the wine marries perfectly with the very high quality, 30+ month air dried, medium long toasted flagship barrels from such renowned coopers as Rousseau, Damy & Seguin Moreau. The resulting wine is aged for 18 months on its lees without stirring, before selection, blending and bottling.
While the oak is certainly present, its job is to support and coddle the immediate and dramatic, deep, concentrated aromas and flavors of ripe yellow, white and green fruits, and to provide hints of brioche and baking spices to mingle with the intense chalk and graphite minerals. The wine has spectacular structure and an amazingly complex finish that lasts for minutes.
Past vintages have been extremely highly rated (2022 was 96, 95+, 95; 2021 was 100, 97). This one is up there.
Extremely Limited – Only 150 cases produced.
While the oak is certainly present, its job is to support and coddle the immediate and dramatic, deep, concentrated aromas and flavors of ripe yellow, white and green fruits, and to provide hints of brioche and baking spices to mingle with the intense chalk and graphite minerals. The wine has spectacular structure and an amazingly complex finish that lasts for minutes.
Past vintages have been extremely highly rated (2022 was 96, 95+, 95; 2021 was 100, 97). This one is up there.
Extremely Limited – Only 150 cases produced.
Wine Profile
| Vintage | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Wine Style | White Wine |
| Varietal | Chardonnay |
| Size | 750 ml |