Aether, 'La Rinconada' Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, California, 2019
Shipping calculated at checkout
In stock
Free U.S. shipping when you spend $400+ on 12 or fewer bottles. View details.
Free local delivery on orders $100+ within 25 miles of Downtown Los Angeles, CA. View details.
Overview of the Wine
We have all the instruments and algorithms that modern vintners use, and these are helpful for making the wine hold together in the bottle. We see to the technical components, the raw materials, fruit, sourcing, uniqueness of terroir; all of the observational, empirical inputs that can be captured in a spreadsheet. But wine has ideas of its own.
What begins as naked elements puts on character with age. Wine has culture that can be cultivated or interrupted from moment to moment and hour to hour. With just enough warmth and care and lightness of hand, it develops soul. Not unlike you or me. Great wine is part biochemistry and part neurochemistry. There can be subliminal, subconscious responses to wine that remove it from the realm of a beverage and elevate it to something with the capacity to deliver a transcendent experience.
Grape / Blend
Chardonnay
Origin
Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara, California
Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Full bodied yet balanced wines across the board and this Chardonnay lands squarely into that camp. Luxurious yet lively and lithe, flavorful and exotic but still friendly and familiar. Aromas of beeswax, blossoms and oyster shells frame an elegant and supple palate.
95 Points - Ian Blackburn
Noble vineyard designation results in a wine of amazing balance, tenderness, focus and vibration… there is something magic about this vineyard and this winery allowed that magic to shine. Color is brilliant and fresh, weight is appropriate and elevated, nose is balanced between optimal varietal fruit character and terroir… with a limestone, sand, rock element that supports the nose, and mouth. In the background likes a playful salted carmel green apple and elements of orchard fruit like white peach. Great balance extends to the tender finish - this wine is ready to drink but will add weight over the next 5 years or more. Color 14.5, Aroma 23.5, Body 23.5, Overall 33.5 = 95 points
Product size: 750ml