2022 Auteur Chardonnay Manchester Ridge

Also from the producer’s favored Wente clone, 2022 Chardonnay Manchester Ridge has been made since the 2019 vintage, though its first Manchester Ridge Pinot Noir dates back to 2009. An ethereal wine from a high-elevation, highly exposed site, where it’s difficult to ripen at higher alcohol levels, the wine is floral and earthy, delicate in light to medium-bodied layers of textured earthiness, a crunch of apple, and a taste of the forest and sea. It’s a deeply contemplative, pleasurable wine that’s got a good 10-12 years more to go at its peak.