Chartreuse yellow in the glass, the nose rimmed with green-brier and the sort of milky, cream-to-the-top velvet top versions of this variety graciously exude. Peach fuzz and hammer-handle, the smoky take on apricot and honey a dense substrate to the sharp edges of mineral and soil. Drinking at 60°, which seams dead-on for a chard of this pedigree.

Cool delirium on the palate: absolutely JAMMED with tropical nectar and the kind of stone-fruit Mediterranean climes enjoy this time of year. Viscous pear and stony peach glow golden and firm over lemon-leaf crush and the dusty grit of structure. Teeth-wiping and fulfilling in concentration, it still manages flighty trysts with thin elegance, deciduous bough claiming the finish for the soothing, magical touch of barrel+lee chemistry this variety DEMANDS.

This thing manages robust-ness in a package so streamlined as to fool you into *lightness*. The finish sweet and delicious, reflecting micro-tannins, the entry un-offendingly robust in a back-office deal between thick & thin–THESE are the things Chardonnay is made of: California glowing from every pore, yet dancing with Burgundian ideals.

2019 DUSTY NABOR ‘Wente Clone’ Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills Santa Barbara 14.0

http://dustynaborwines.com/