2021 Chardonnay La Rinconada, Sanford

"Pacific Tension”

This is coastal California at its most composed. The 2021 La Rinconada opens with lemon zest, green apple and white peach, layered over crushed oyster shell and sea spray, with a faint flicker of almond and subtle toast. It feels lifted and precise from the first swirl, the aromatics shaped more by wind and salt air than sunshine.

On the palate, it is taut and beautifully sculpted. A streak of citrus and stone fruit runs through the centre, framed by fine oak and gentle lees texture that adds polish without softening the edges. The acidity is bright and driving, giving the wine real energy and length. There is breadth, but it never spills over into richness. Instead, it tapers into a long, saline, mineral finish that hums with cool-climate clarity.

This is Chardonnay with backbone and quiet authority. Powerful in its restraint, and built to evolve.

For when you want Chardonnay that feels serious and site-driven.
Pairs with grilled turbot, lobster with lemon butter, or simply time and a large glass.
If this wine were a landscape, it would be cliffs above the Pacific, wind in the air and the horizon stretching endlessly ahead.

Producer
Sanford’s La Rinconada Vineyard is one of the most iconic sites in the Sta. Rita Hills, planted in the wind-swept western corridor where Pacific influence defines everything. Marine soils, long hang times and meticulous vineyard work combine to produce Chardonnay of tension and minerality. The 2021 vintage, marked by low yields and exceptional purity, captures this vineyard at its most focused and compelling, a benchmark expression of cool-climate Californian Chardonnay.