At the Good Climate - Santa Barbara - Chardonnay 2022
Au Bon Climat is located in California , USA . Owner and winemaker Jim Clendenen is one of the most well-known figures in the American wine industry. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and spent a month in Burgundy and Champagne, which convinced him to pursue a career in wine rather than pursue law school. In 1982, Clendenen and Adam Tolmach decided to create a winery dedicated to Burgundy grape varieties in rented premises. Adam left in 1990 to pursue his own career, leaving Jim in sole charge. Au Bon Climat sources its fruit from several of the most renowned vineyards on the Central Coast. These include Clendenen's own Le Bon Climat Vineyard and Bien Nacido Vineyard plantings - both in the Santa Maria Valley, as well as Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills, Los Alamos Vineyard (Santa Barbara County) and Talley Vineyard in San Luis Obispo County.
Santa Barbara Chardonnay comes from five vineyards: Bien Nacido, Los Alamos, Rancho Real, Gold Coast and North Canyon. In September and October, the grapes are hand-picked and sorted in the vineyard, then pressed in whole clusters. The juice is quickly decanted, cooled and transferred to barrels for alcoholic fermentation and malolactic fermentation. The following summer, the batches are blended and the wine is bottled, after 8 months of aging on lees in neutral François Frères barrels .
Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay