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: 2020 Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

2020 Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

SKU #1555790 96 points Vinous

Outer quote mark The 2020 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is outrageously beautiful. In fact, it is one of the very finest wines I have ever tasted from Greg Brewer. Rich and textured in the glass, with plenty of bright acids, the 2020 is wonderfully alive. Greg Brewer has done a tremendous job in crafting a Chardonnay that is both texturally deep and intense. In 2020, facing a lack of visibility in the market because of COVID-19, Brewer-Clifton bottled just a fraction of their appellation Chardonnay, freeing up a number of top sites that Greg Brewer was able to access for Diatom. The 2020 is simply magnificent. (AG) Inner quote mark (10/2021)

95 points Wine Enthusiast

Outer quote mark Fresh melon, Key lime and celery aromas make for a unique and refreshing nose in this tantalizing wine by Greg Brewer. The wine zips across the palate with vibrant, titillating acidity, carrying flavors of sea shell, light herb and zesty citrus into the relentlessly grippy finish. *Editors’ Choice* (MK) Inner quote mark (8/2021)

93 points Jeb Dunnuck

Outer quote mark The 2020 Chardonnay Santa Barbara County comes from the talented Greg Brewer, and it's been an incredible value in every vintage I've been lucky enough to taste. Revealing a medium to lighter gold hue, it's medium-bodied and juicy, with a lively, up-front nose of ripe Meyer lemon, tangerine, honeysuckle, and exotic white flowers. This pure, elegant Chardonnay brings beautiful fruit and texture, has plenty of acidity, and a great finish. Inner quote mark (8/2021)

K&L Notes

The 2020 offering from Diatom bears the broader Santa Barbara County AVA designation. However, the juice in the bottle is top-notch single vineyard quality, coming from 3D Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and Katherine's Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. In classic Greg Brewer style, the wine derives its power from low yields and perfectly ripe fruit, vinified without the use of oak, entirely fermented and aged in stainless steel, with no malolactic fermentation.

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2020 Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

Price: $24.95

Quantity:

VN: 96

WE: 95

JD: 93

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Product Reviews:

By: Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 12/13/2021 | Send Email

Legendary winemaker Greg Brewer was given a huge blank canvas and a full spectrum of colors to work his magic with in 2020. With pandemic-driven economic uncertainty pre-occupying the bean counters, the decision was made to reduce the number of single vineyard wines under Diatom and Brewer-Clifton in favor of a more broad, Santa Barbara County offering at a superbly affordable price point. Brewer set to work with his pick of the finest raw materials from top vineyard sites and he rendered an absolute master piece. True to his signature style, this powerful Chardonnay captures the wonderful golden, ripe, crystalline fruit grown across these sites as well as the vibrancy and verve of cool climate Chardonnay. The quality and purity of this fruit is then beautifully preserved without use of oak or malo altering the flavor or texture of this pure expression of captured cool sunlight. The wine is flavorful and rich with golden delicious apple, lemon curd, makrut lime, sea spray salinity, and wet stone mineral. Lovely tactile weight and texture on the palate with a precise, slowly tapering finish that is laden with fascinating mineral tones. It's absolutely classic Greg Brewer. But the best thing...the price. I mean this is right up there at the level of some of his best Chardonnays that sell in the $50-60 range and yet you can stock up on this 96 point gem for $24.95! What are you waiting for?!

Top Value! Drink from 2021 to 2030

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Chardonnay

- It's hard to believe that up until about 30 years ago, this extremely popular varietal hid behind the veil of geographical names like Chablis and Puligny-Montrachet. Now grown all over the world and bottled by its varietal name, Chardonnay has achieved a level of branding unlike any other wine. Surprisingly, though, what you get when you buy Chardonnay can differ greatly from country to country and even within one country, depending on the climate where it's grown and how it is vinified and aged. From fresh, crisp and minerally with apple and lemon notes to rich and buttery with tropical fruit overtones, Chardonnay runs the gamut. In France's Burgundy, Chardonnay is the source of the prized wines of Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Mâcon, Meursault and Montrachet. It also the foundation of exceptional Champagne, where it is blended with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier or vinified on its own into Blanc de Blancs. It is also extremely popular in California, and is gaining popularity in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and South Africa.

Country:

United States

- When people consider domestic wine, they normally think about the state of California. The fine viticultural Region within California, including the Napa Valley, Sonoma, Santa Cruz Mountains, Mendocino and Santa Barbara, are capable of growing grapes of world-class quality. But there's plenty of fabulous wine coming from other states, too. Oregon, Washington and New York are also causing eyebrows (and glassware) to be raised around the world.

Sub-Region:

California

- With the explosive growth that California's wine industry has seen the past several years, it's easy to view winemaking and grape growing in the Golden State as a recent phenomenon. And while it's true that California's viticultural history is brief compared to several European countries, this state's roots date back well over 200 years. Due to the enormous response to California wine within the United States and worldwide, there are thousands of excellent and diverse wines being produced within the state each year.

Specific Appellation:

Santa Maria/Santa Barbara

- Santa Maria and Santa Ynez make up the two AVAs of Santa Barbara County, an area known for its natural beauty and temperate climate. The best grape-growing areas, however, are located on the very coastal reaches of these two appellations, and are cooled by ever-present fog and ocean breezes (it is even cooler and foggier here than Carneros!). As expected, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir thrive while the more inland zones lay claim to Bordeaux varietals and some Rhône blends.

Alcohol Content (%):

14.5