Shaved lemon peel, wild daffodil, Asian pear. Fuji apple flesh, crushed salt, peeled tangerine. Spring flowers and fresh jasmine, dried straw and white sage. Pineapple zest and crunchy white nectarine glimmer above Greek yogurt and unbaked dough. Gushing energy and focus, spewing minerality in the form of saline diatomaceous earth, chalk, and sand. This 2016 Zotovich Vineyard Chardonnay by Ann Albert Wines is stunning Chard from the Santa Rita Hills.

Santa Barbara's Santa Rita Hills appellation is about as coastal as a wine region gets. Cool fog from the Pacific devours the landscape here every morning, only to burn off under the warm afternoon sun. Soils indicate this area once lay completely underwater, and salty briny earth is common beneath many of the area's best vineyards. This bottling, crafted using 100% Chardonnay from the Zotovich Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills, is one of the most marine-driven wines we've tried from this oceanic region. The fruit is lean, balanced, and high energy, but beneath it lies a core of high-acid salt and chalk laden mineral tones. Extended lees contact is evident and adds a touch of fullness without feeling round or fat. This wine has the verve of Grand Cru Chablis with a distinct Santa Barbara zing. It is balanced, expansive, and simply beautiful. One of the most impressive and well executed California Chardonnays we've experienced in recent memory. Bravo.