#ritascrown

Fried egg, pork fat and the grassy wildflower sweetness bees love and Maria dances through in Sound of Music and so do I. Warm, nutty and savory, the brilliant light yellow doesn't hint at its viscosity. Rita's Crown baby. This is Rita's Crown. A Chardonnay JEWEL in the Santa Rita Hills. Oh dear dog ALL Chardonnay on the tongue. And praise hay-zeus for that. Quit trying to kill Chardonnay with this treatment or that or with exclusive demarcations of process on the label. Just make it. Let it shine. Light and breezy, while still cramming cinnamon and lemon curd topped with meringue all over your face like a 22-year-old's wedding to their high-school sweetheart. A dirty streak brings everything back down to working-man's terms and a high mineral note creates glacerial features in your imagination. Cool, calm and collected (supermarket chard is the opposite of all three), this is beautiful stuff for those smart folks who have not limited themselves to the stupid stainless steel argument but also have graduated from the school of oak & malo. 2014 @velvetbee_wine #chardonnay #RitasCrown #santaritahills #santaynezvalley 14.45 #libbeyglass (at Lompoc Wine Ghetto) https://www.instagram.com/p/BzwuS-LHfNL/?igshid=2rp72x25w7ps

Golden. Sweet egg-yolk nectar in the nose, an almost cola-ish tinge--muddy and bright--to the effusive pear and apricot and glycerin-ey warm papaya. A slight green-briar tinge anchored in citrus-zest minerality lays down submissively under the wide swath of tertiary. I've been playing with this glass long enough it probably is north of 60°, hence all the vibrant savory notes.  I'm going to touch it up with something that will put us back down in to the 50°+ area before I taste it.  No wait--I want to taste it first.  Yup, it's coming off a little flabbier and hot that is ideal--and it's not the wine's fault.  Temperature is SO IMPORTANT in white wine tasting, people. This can NOT be stressed enough. And wait till you get to the end and see what vineyards this is. OK, Back down slightly below 50°, and all the green apple and yellow pear is crisp and brilliantly smooth across the tongue, acid providing the perfect bite alongside--balanced and lovely.  Bright cold iced herb tea and mild hard cheeses give surprising chewiness to the warm butter and almond visible in this 5-year-old Chard. This is just about the perfect age to drink Chardonnay. I try to keep a stash of them down at this age, but usually have to test them much younger.  This is a beauty, an I'm guessing probably not complete malo and almost all neutral oak.  The green finish attempts great rounding-off by the white-wine gods, but it literally has more tannin than some paso cabs. Just a gorgeous wine, and this vintage is STILL ON THE WEBSITE FOR 28 BUCKS. 2013 @VELVETBEE_WINE #Chardonnay #RitasCrown #radianvineyard #SantaRitaHills #SantaYnezValley #santabarbarawinecountry 14.4 (at Wine Ghetto) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxOhscdgVRr/?igshid=agcufixif9ex

@thelambsclub we are currently serving @sandhiwines #RitasCrown @centralcoastgroupproject #Names @alkoomiwines @ronchidicialla #Refosco @ferruccio_deiana_vini #Ajana @chateau_branecantenac #Baron #sommlife #keeponpouring (at The Lambs Club)