2016 Santa Rita hills Chardonnay - Alma Rosa Winery

Yellow delicious apple, salted caramel, fresh mango. Lemon bar, bright jasmine, Bosc pear. Juicy peach, pineapple core, and sweet cantaloupe converge with cinnamon, butterscotch, and vanillin in a wonderfully warm-fruited middle-weight display. Fragrant honeysuckle and gardenias emerge to provide pretty floral lift aided by impressions of nutmeg, clove, and baking spices. Subtle notes of honeycomb, cashew, and custard continue the theme of sunny decadence yet are offset slightly by cool sea breeze, sandy loam, and polished steel. Pleasantly round and indulgent up front yet still remarkably lively and crisp; showcasing agreeable tartness and zip on the palate before concluding in clean and delicious refreshment. Medium in body with nicely elevated acidity. This 2016 Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay by Alma Rosa Winery is a well made and thoroughly enjoyable white from Santa Barbara County.

Chardonnay has worked its way to becoming the world's most popular white wine grape and that is largely because it can succeed in so many stylistic expressions and price ranges. This bottling, crafted by Alma Rosa Winery using Chardonnay sourced from throughout Santa Barbara's Santa Rita Hills appellation, proves that a delicious example of this noble grape can be found at a wonderful value. While it possesses a solid core of ripe and juicy fruit this wine remains very well in balance - wonderfully juxtaposing the buttery softness of oak with a crisp stainless steel twang. This is a tasty, authentic, and unpretentious interpretation of California Chardonnay that accurately represents its grape and terroir. A fun and crowd-friendly offering.