Sanford La Rinconada Chardonnay 2021
£48.45
The wine
La Rinconada is the vineyard Richard Sanford planted after parting from Michael Benedict in 1980, sitting directly across the valley from the original Sanford & Benedict site. Chardonnay from it is concentrated and mineral, with the fine-boned structure that cool Sta. Rita Hills fruit gives.
The Sta. Rita Hills sit in one of the transverse valleys that run east to west through the coastal ranges, funnelling cold Pacific air and fog inland. The growing season is long, cool and windy, and the region has become one of the two or three best addresses for Pinot Noir in the United States.
The producer
Sanford
View all Sanford winesSanford is a pioneer of cool-climate wine in the Sta. Rita Hills north of Santa Barbara. The legendary Sanford & Benedict vineyard was planted in 1971 by Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict, and produced acclaimed wines from its very first vintages. The two parted in 1980, and Sanford went on to plant La Rinconada nearby.
Planting Pinot Noir there in 1971 was regarded as eccentric. The Sta. Rita Hills sit in one of the transverse valleys that run east to west through the coastal ranges, funnelling cold Pacific air and fog inland; the growing season is long, cool and windy, and the region has since become one of the two or three best addresses for Pinot Noir in the United States.
Sanford & Benedict is now among the most historically significant vineyards in California, and the wines from it are the estate's finest. The Founders Vine bottling comes from the original 1971 plantings.
