2019 Racines Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills, California, USA

ABOUT THIS WINE

From the Producer: "A blend of Chardonnay from the sites we work with in the Santa Rita Hills, the majority coming from La Mesa Vineyard and the Wenzlau Vineyard. La Mesa Vineyard, which sits to the very western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills, is leased to us by Domaine de La Côte. Wenzlau Vineyard, which is part of our estate holdings, sits surrounded by Rita’s Crown, Mt. Carmel, and Sea Smoke Vineyards, on a steep, dramatic hillside just above the Santa Ynez River and across from the famed Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. The wines were fermented in a combination of 500L puncheons and 228L barriques, resulting in about 10% new wood on the wine. After a little under a year in barrel, the wines and all the lees were moved to tank for an additional five months of cellaring. This is a wine that we believe best represents the potential of the region as a whole."

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Racines is a collaboration led by Étienne de Montille and Brian Sieve of Burgundy and Rodolphe Péters of Champagne. Étienne and Brian had been on an exploratory trip to California and Oregon in search of a place where they could put down roots for a initial project beyond of France. In the Santa Rita Hills, they found the precision and finesse they were looking for.

A year later Rodolphe Péters, with a similar intent, joined to create a range of sparkling wines, also from the Santa Rita Hills. The team came together to join their individual experiences in hand-crafting wines of purity and transparency to create a range of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the cool climate of the Sta. Rita Hills in California. Racines represents the coming together of all that is wondrous about Burgundy, Champagne and California.