2018 Bien Nacido Chardonnay

Seeing the same 18 months in 20% new French oak, the 2018 Chardonnay Bien Nacido offers more salinity and minerality as well as notes of crushed citrus, sappy herbs, and crushed stone. It's medium-bodied and has a bright, racy texture, good concentration, and a great finish. Not enough can be said about the quality consistently being produced by Gavin Chanin, and he’s produced some of the top wines of 2018. Pulling primarily from sites like Bien Nacido, Los Alamos, and Sanford & Benedict, Gavin’s wines are always exceedingly elegant, with bright acidity, yet they also have depth, length, and a sense of pure class. In addition, they show singular characters. As to the winemaking, the Pinot Noirs generally see a small percentage of stems, and the new oak is kept in the 20% to 30% range pretty much across the board. Unfortunately, quantities are minuscule, so most of these releases are under 200 cases.