2019 Racines, Bentrock Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills, California, USA

A gorgeous wine, the 2019 Chardonnay Bentrock Vineyard dazzles with its purity and translucence. Crushed rocks, lemon confit, white flowers and mint give the 2019 a brilliant, sculpted personality. Soaring aromatics and bright saline accents build into the regal finish.Racines is the Sta. Rita Hills project headed by Etienne de Montille, Rodolphe Péters and Justin Willett. The wines are deep, layered and, not surprisingly, super-expressive regarding the site. The Pinots, in particular, tend to show notable breadth from a combination of a high percentage of stems, classic winemaking and relatively long ageing of around 19 months in barrel.Drink 2023 - 2031antonio_galloni, Vinous.com.com (June 2021)

There is enough wood to notice framing the smoky aromas of poached pear, apple, citrus and acacia blossom. There is an almost painful intensity to the sleek, linear and beautifully delineated flavours that deliver first-rate length on the very dry and impressively persistent finish. This is really very stylish, indeed even classy, and a wine that should repay mid-term cellaring—lovely juice and worth a special search to find.Drink from 2026 onwardallen_meadows, burghound_com.com (April 2022)