Sandhi 'Central Coast' Chardonnay 2020

Wine Advocate 93
"The 2020 Chardonnay Central Coast features golden apple fruits with touches of dark spice, dried chamomile, crushed almonds and beeswax. The palate is satiny and fresh with slowly expanding nutty flavors, and it finishes long and spicy."

Tasting Notes
"This was previously called "Chardonnay Santa Barbara County," but winemaker Sashi Moorman says they've begun sourcing fruit from other areas of California like San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Lucia Highlands, so this will be known by the wider Central Coast appellation moving forward. The 2019 Chardonnay Central Coast opens with touches of flint, stone and white blossoms with crunchy tree fruits and bright citrusy accents. The palate is much more open-knit at this early stage, fleshing out to yellow apples and honey in a silky texture with bright freshness and a long, delicate finish. 6,500 cases were made."

The Wine
Santa Barbara County Chardonnay is a blend from different vineyards located in Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and Sta. Rita Hills. Vineyard sources include Bien Nacido, Gainey, Zaca Mesa, Ritas Crown, Wenzlau, Bentrock, Duarita, and Sanford & Benedict. The average vineage is 25 years old. The wine was fermented in used older French oak barrels with ambient yeast and without any other additions (except a little SO2). The wine was aged for 10 months in barrel and finally racked to stainless steel tanks and bottled with a light fining.

The Estate
Sandhi is a small production California winery focusing on select vineyards from the Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County and was founded in 2010 by Rajat Parr, the wine director for Michael Mina Restaurants, and esteemed winemaker, Sashi Moorman. Sandhi represents a union essential to the production of wine: the collaboration between man, earth, and vine. The willing participation of all three elements is necessary to make great wine, and the winegrower must make this collaboration rich and nourishing for all involved. An understanding of these joint efforts informs Sandhis exploration of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines throughout the Santa Barbara County terroir.

The individual vineyards from which these grapes originatesome legendary, some newhave been exhaustively vetted for character, personality, and balance. Employing the wisdom and talents of people who know the vineyards, Sandhi is dedicated to making wines of finesse, minerality, acidity, structure and balance. Wine achieves power and beauty through the seamless integration of these qualities, and this is the inspiration for Sandhi. Wines exhibiting extreme ripeness, alcohol, oak, and other discordant exaggerations cannot truly express a specific vineyards terroir.

Sandhi is a small production California winery focusing on select vineyards from the Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County and was founded in 2010 by Rajat Parr, the wine director for Michael Mina Restaurants, and esteemed winemaker, Sashi Moorman. Sandhi represents a union essential to the production of wine: the collaboration between man, earth, and vine. The willing participation of all three elements is necessary to make great wine, and the winegrower must make this collaboration rich and nourishing for all involved. An understanding of these joint efforts informs Sandhi's exploration of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines throughout the Santa Barbara County terroir.

The individual vineyards from which these grapes originate–some legendary, some new–have been exhaustively vetted for character, personality, and balance. Employing the wisdom and talents of people who know the vineyards, Sandhi is dedicated to making wines of finesse, minerality, acidity, structure and balance. Wine achieves power and beauty through the seamless integration of these qualities, and this is the inspiration for Sandhi. Wines exhibiting extreme ripeness, alcohol, oak, and other discordant exaggerations cannot truly express a specific vineyards terroir.

Farming Practice:Practicing Organic