We love Chardonnay from Santa Cruz's high-elevation vineyards, and this is an incredible Chardonnay that is reminiscent of a lovely Corton Charlemagne from France. Bradley Brown's team tends the Howard Family vineyard, and the resulting wine is breathtaking. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and spends a year in mostly older oak and another six months in stainless steel tanks before bottling, unfined, and unfiltered. There are lovely aromas of stone fruit blossoms, yellow fruits, lemon chiffon, lovely minerality of wet stones, and a touch of earth. The palate has incredible tension and cut with the wine's acidity, keeping it precise and focused. This is drinking great now, but judging by the ways it's built, I wouldn't be surprised if it ages another decade. It is absolutely quintessential California Chardonnay for the purest. Only 168 cases were made, and these are the only bottles available outside the winery, so dont miss these last bottles!
Antonio Galloni 95 pts! The 2019 Chardonnay Howard Family is fabulous. A wine of energy and tension, the 2019 offers a beguiling combination of vibrancy from a cool site married to the richer notes that have developed in bottle. That interplay makes for a delicious and super inviting Chardonnay. Dried orchard fruit, citrus peel, almond and light earthy undertones all run through the 2019. This is a terrific effort from proprietor Bradley Brown and the team at Big Basin. (Drink between 2023 - 2027)
2019 Big Basin Vineyards Chardonnay Howard Family Vineyard
2019 Big Basin Vineyards Chardonnay Howard Family Vineyard
We love Chardonnay from Santa Cruz's high-elevation vineyards, and this is an incredible Chardonnay that is reminiscent of a lovely Corton Charlemagne from France. Bradley Brown's team tends the Howard Family vineyard, and the resulting wine is breathtaking. The wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts and spends a year in mostly older oak and another six months in stainless steel tanks before bottling, unfined, and unfiltered. There are lovely aromas of stone fruit blossoms, yellow fruits, lemon chiffon, lovely minerality of wet stones, and a touch of earth. The palate has incredible tension and cut with the wine's acidity, keeping it precise and focused. This is drinking great now, but judging by the ways it's built, I wouldn't be surprised if it ages another decade. It is absolutely quintessential California Chardonnay for the purest. Only 168 cases were made, and these are the only bottles available outside the winery, so dont miss these last bottles!
Antonio Galloni 95 pts! The 2019 Chardonnay Howard Family is fabulous. A wine of energy and tension, the 2019 offers a beguiling combination of vibrancy from a cool site married to the richer notes that have developed in bottle. That interplay makes for a delicious and super inviting Chardonnay. Dried orchard fruit, citrus peel, almond and light earthy undertones all run through the 2019. This is a terrific effort from proprietor Bradley Brown and the team at Big Basin. (Drink between 2023 - 2027)