Sanford Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay

Golden straw yellow in colour. The bouquet brings mellow aromas of Asian pear, butter-fried apple and a bit of canned pear followed by notes of apple pie, lemon meringue, poached pear, grilled peach, honeysuckle, melon, honeycomb and toasted hazelnuts, before rounding out with a pinch of spice and sea salt. The compelling aspect is the grippy palate, which is taut in a chalky tension that presents flavours of sea salt, Pink Lady apple and red pear. Vibrant, elegant and deeply moreish on the finish, it’s enough to make even the most devout of Burgundy worshippers reconsider.

Botanist Michael Benedict and his friend Richard Sanford were committed to finding a cool climate region and a location where they could plant and grow grapes and craft wines, where the quality might equal the best of the best in Europe. His analysis took him to a unique part of the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County and right to the foot of the property that would ultimately become the Sanford & Benedict vineyard. The first vines were planted in 1971, and soon the Pinot Noir from this remote vineyard created a buzz. Others soon followed, wanting to capture the magic of this place. It was the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard which would form the backbone of what is now the Sta. Rita Hills AVA and it was also this vineyard that supplied the cuttings for many of the surrounding vineyards. It is this balance of farmed versus unfarmed land on the ranches which helps us in creating and maintaining a balanced ecosystem and the ideal growing environment.