Tart Meyer lemon, crushed seashells, pineapple core. Honeycrisp apple, homemade sourdough, underripe nectarine. Incredibly bright and nervy bursts of green mango, grapefruit zest, and yellow pear beam with outstanding energy and verve within a delightfully expressive yet tightly-wound attack. Hints of matchstick and flint expose subtle yet riveting reductive characteristics that give way to captivating terroir-focused reflections of ocean fog, diatomaceous earth, and saline minerality. Delicate notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and sawdust provide glimpses of extremely judicious barrel treatment while wafts of jasmine and honeysuckle contribute a decidedly pretty floral overlay. Understated bread-crumb-like leesy qualities round out the presentation while contributing intriguing dimension and depth without detracting from the wine's crisp and driving intensity. Beautifully clean, focused, and electric on the palate with an enviable combination of tension, breadth, and elegance; exhibiting a lean and restrained yet flavor-packed profile that is classically-styled and seriously seductive. Medium bodied and brimming with high acidity. This 2020 Mt. Carmel Vineyard Chardonnay by Piazza Family Wines is an exceptionally terroir expressive and delicious white from the Santa Rita Hills.

Located in the heart of Santa Barbara's Santa Rita Hills high atop a steep south-facing slope, the Mt. Carmel Vineyard was planted by Ron & Nancy Piazza in 1989 and over the course of the last 3 decades has earned a reputation as one of the top vineyard sites in all of California's Central Coast. This bottling, crafted by Piazza Family Wines using Chardonnay sourced from the Mt. Carmel Vineyard, is an exhilarating example of the world-class Chardonnay this legendary terroir can produce. Made in a lower-alcohol and minimally-oaked style, this wine radiates with tart and edgy citrus-led fruits backed by a powerful vein of distinctly saline minerality and earthiness. Its wonderful nervous energy is extremely Burgundian in feel and places it closer in style to great Puligny-Montrachet than to a typical California Chardonnay. Outstanding.