Solomon Hills, Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley

Balanced, good fruit, and good acid. Still has some time.

Bright, light gold. Aromas of verbena, lemon flesh, honeysuckle bloom, ginger powder, allspice and crushed stone. Richly textured palate, with fresh quince and lime fruit, along with densely layered jasmine, clove oil, crushed stone and ginger, underpinned by an intense saline minerality. Full bodied, with slowly expansive core density, bright integrated acid and fleshy broad-grained finishing structure, closing with full deep depth. Cool and savory, yet rich and expansive, a blockbuster vintage for this wine. I see this on an …

Santa Maria Valley, Calif., 2019 Solomon Hills Estate Chardonnay, $45. Mid-dark gold, viscous (14.0 alc.); stone fruit, wine lees, oak nose (aged in 40% new French oak); mid-plus acids; medium depth; long semi-tight mineral and stone fruit finish. 17 UC Davis scale, 92 other scales.

Bien Nacido Vineyard Tour (Bien Nacido Vineyards) : Came across as a bit more open than the BN Chardonnay, yet more minerally and perhaps a bit flinty. Made exactly the same way, so this is purely a terroir difference. Again, I would give this a few years to mesh together.

Light yellow color; appealing, tart pear, white jasmine nose; tasty, tart pear, mineral palate with good acidity; medium-plus finish (13.9% alcohol; 33% new oak)

Chardonnay Symposium- Santa Maria Valley. Flinty lees with subtle citrus & stone fruit and accents of spice throughout. Nicely weighted and balanced with a medium + finish. A little dense- should unfold with time. Very nice.