Sea Smoke Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2022
Sea Smoke Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2022 is a 750mL estate Chardonnay from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County — 100% Chardonnay from Dijon and Wente clones, aged 10 months in French oak and bottled with no fining and no filtration. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- Size: 750mL
- Vintage: 2022
- Varietal: 100% Chardonnay — Dijon and Wente clones
- Appellation: Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Santa Barbara County, California
- Vineyard: Exclusively Sea Smoke Estate Vineyard — 172 acres, organically farmed since 2005
- Winemaking: Hand-sorted estate fruit, softly pressed, fermented in stainless steel, then malolactic fermentation in barrel with periodic stirring
- Aging: 10 months in French oak, 24% new; no fining, no filtration
- Origin: California, USA
Fog, Clay and Patience in the Sta. Rita Hills
Sea Smoke was founded in 1999 with the purchase of its estate property in the Sta. Rita Hills, north of Santa Barbara, and the first vintage in 2001 established it as one of California's top Pinot Noir producers — the Chardonnay comes from the same single estate vineyard, 172 acres at elevations of 218 to 720 feet with a southern exposure, over semi-siliceous shale with calcareous strata and thin clay topsoils. The estate has been farmed organically since 2005, with biodynamic practices applied across the property. The defining influence is the cooling Pacific fog that flows through the Santa Ynez River canyon — the "sea smoke" itself — preserving natural acidity while the flavors mature. This 2022 comes from the estate's founding era under founder Bob Davids. Browse the Sea Smoke Cellars collection and more wine at Del Mesa.
Tasting Notes
The winery's notes for the 2022: an elegant Chardonnay with aromas of lemon curd, star fruit, fresh-cut peach and wet stone, complemented by satsuma mandarins and a touch of hazelnut in the focused mid-palate, and the refreshing cool-climate acidity of the estate vineyard.
How to Enjoy
Serve chilled with oysters, grilled seafood or roast chicken — the acidity is built for food. It drinks beautifully now, and reviewers of the 2022 suggest the patient will be rewarded: a few years of cellaring only adds to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Sea Smoke Chardonnay made? Exclusively from Sea Smoke's estate vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County, California — a cool-climate site cooled by Pacific fog (the "sea smoke") moving through the Santa Ynez River canyon.
How is Sea Smoke Chardonnay made? Hand-sorted estate fruit is softly pressed and fermented in stainless steel, then racked to French oak barrels (24% new) for malolactic fermentation with periodic stirring, aged 10 months total, and bottled with no fining and no filtration.
What clones are in Sea Smoke Chardonnay? Dijon and Wente clones, grown on the estate's loamy, well-drained soils.
What does the 2022 Sea Smoke Chardonnay taste like? Per the winery: lemon curd, star fruit, fresh-cut peach and wet stone, with satsuma mandarin and a touch of hazelnut in a focused mid-palate, carried by refreshing cool-climate acidity.
Estate-grown, fog-cooled and barrel-aged — secure the Sea Smoke Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2022 at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA, while this vintage remains.