You need not look far to discover that Chanin has become one of the most buzzworthy producers on the California wine scene, and that fame has rapidly spread across Europe’s greatest food and wine epicenters. You also needn’t look far to understand the global importance of the fabled Bien Nacido Vineyard: This region- and state-defining site has been identified as a “Top Grand Cru Vineyard,” “Vineyard of the Year,” and “Top 25 Vineyard of the World” since it was first planted in 1973. So, when legendary vineyard and rising superstar Chanin merged, liquid luxury, lightning praise, and a jaw-dropping drinking experience was born.
But today’s cellar-direct 2016 Chardonnay comes with an added bonus: it hails entirely from the “W Block” of Bien Nacido, one of the original parcels planted nearly 50 years ago. Add on rigidly sustainable farming, 17 months of aging in tightly-grained French oak, and a rotating label hand-drawn by Gavin Chanin himself, and you have a high-in-demand Chardonnay that coexists with the upper-echelons of elite Burgundy—for $45. If, for some reason, you still need convincing, just take a gander at the massive outpouring of accolades from any wine critic and that will make a bulletproof case as to why this micro-batch project has launched into stardom. As always, these wines are only available in very limited quantities.
Gavin is the king of his craft when it comes to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but there’s no denying he’s a full-blooded jack of all trades. If he’s not out surveying vineyards or buried in a row of barrels at his winery in Lompoc’s “Wine Ghetto,” you’d have trouble pinning him down: He could be in Los Angeles crunching numbers with his mother/bookkeeper, out on a recovery mission for his volunteer work at the local search and rescue, painting new labels for upcoming releases, or talking about his critically acclaimed wines in a number of major European and Asian hubs.
There’s a reason his label has caught the world’s attention so quickly: Gavin’s first harvest came at 18 under the mentorship of Au Bon Climat’s famously eccentric Jim Clendenen, and with the additional guidance of Qupé’s pioneering Bob Lindquist, Gavin was making his own wine (from the best vineyard sites) within a matter of years. Learning under two of California’s greatest wine minds and crafting wine from premium, sustainably farmed grapes from the beginning propelled him into launching his own eponymous label in 2007. In the following year, he was able to secure some vines in Bien Nacido’s “W Block.”
Here’s a brief overview of this now-legendary vineyard. In the mid-1850s, the Ontiveros family was granted a deed to a parcel originally called Rancho Tepusquet, near Santa Barbara in California. This was a land grant offered by the then-Governor of Mexico as a homestead for his daughter and new son-in-law. From the first days of their time at Rancho Tepusquet, the Ontiveros family had raised cows, horses, and other livestock next to a small tributary of the Santa Maria River. With a crystalline water source and nearly 2,000 acres of pasture land, the family started building their home. Then came Bob and Steve Miller, members of their own fourth-generation farming family, both of whom found this pristine property in 1969 when they were offered two contiguous parcels of land that were part of the original Rancho Tepusquet. With the chance to continue a tradition of farming sustainably and focusing on the highest quality, the two original parcels were reunited and rechristened “Bien Nacido.” Directly (and appropriately) translated as “well-born,” Bien Nacido is about as purebred as vineyards come.
Gavin’s skills in the winery are on full display in this 2016 “Bien Nacido” Chardonnay. The grapes were gently pressed directly into high-quality French barrels where fermentation and subsequent aging, without any bâtonnage (lees stirring), occurred. Its total time in oak was 17 months, but this isn’t burdened by heavy-handed spice because new oak was limited to about 15%. Look at it this way: 30 barrels of today’s 2016 were produced and of that 30, only four or five were brand new.
In the glass, the wine shines with radiant straw yellow hues and platinum reflections and immediately explodes with a marvelous roar of fruit, spice, and earth: fresh pineapple, yellow peach, crisp yellow apples, tangerine, salted lemon peel, honeysuckle, lees, pungent white flowers, struck flint, exotic spices, and crushed stones. My advice? Give this time to open up and it will keep evolving and exponentially rewarding you. Like the finest white Burgundy, the alcohol is kept in check here, but the palate feels nearly full-bodied due to insane levels of piano-wire tension, mineral profundity, and bottomless layers of fleshy, textural fruit. For the best results, allow 30-60 minutes in a decanter, and let your bottle extend throughout the course of an evening (save a glass for the following day for a real treat). Furthermore, make sure you cellar a couple of bottles because this will be singing the purest of notes around its seventh or eighth birthday. Above all, enjoy this sensational wine—it’s guaranteed to redefine your perception of California Chardonnay. Cheers!
