Light canary-gold, creamy and delicious nose of sweet ash, dusty melon and leaf-piles, light touches of peach, almond butter and banana. The oak is meticulously integrated–a perfect pairing with this variety which loves the finessing characteristics of oak SO much.
Strong and acidic in the mouth: at 55°, opening up light and bright and then pounding you with density of fruit, obvious tannin and acidic under-pinnings. Green tea and sharp, crisp vegetal bring green-grass and bitter-floral face-to-face with apricot and grapefruit, the oak turning more *neutral barrel* late middle and sliding seamlessly into the tannin, but throughout, the purity of all things CHARDONNAY is never dampened.
This is a big wine, masquerading as a California quaffer. Don’t let the pretty label fool you. But it is not *big* in a supermarket-chardonnay sort of way. If you are unfortunate enough to have a palate tuned to big, buttery chards: TURN AND WALK OUT THE DOOR. This is not your wine. The word “Burgundian” gets thrown around WAAAAAAY too often in regard to Pinot in California–and almost ALWAYS wrongly–but I think Chablis-style is getting easier and easier to find in the U.S. And NO: I am not talking about the abominations known as “Stainless Steel” or “No Oak”. Those wines rarely–if ever–align with Chablis profiles. Chardonnay loves the barrel. Don’t take the barrel away from the Chardonnay. This wine is a Chablis stunner. Sharp and racy, alcoholic old-world cellar roundness, a wisp of funk, loads of earth, harsh tannins, light-on-its-feet and fun to drink now, but this wine can go 20+ years. I say that without hesitation. It has the concentration, the ripeness, the alcohol, and the structure. Buy two cases and drink one a year. OMG I just clicked on the website and saw the price.
2019 BOLT TO WINES Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills Santa Ynez Valley Santa Barbara Co. 14.0
Stephen McConnell 