2014 The Hilt The Vanguard Chardonnay Santa Barbara County

Parker’s “One of the Best Winemakers in California.”

The Hilt’s “The Vanguard” Chardonnay shares an acclaimed winemaker — Matt Dees — with Jonata, one whom Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate calls “one of the best winemakers in California.” So should anyone really be surprised that this Santa Barbara Chardonnay garnered a whopping 94 points from the Advocate? The Hilt Estate calls the cool, windswept southwestern edge of Sta. Rita Hills home — anchored by Bentrock and Radian, two estate vineyard sources, which the Advocate calls “incredible.” The Hilt’s 2014 “The Vanguard” is “fresh, layered and focused, with lively acidity and a pure, elegant style” and the perfect example of the “incredible, laser-focused and age-worthy wines” Dees is producing — in short, a can’t miss Chardonnay.

The Hilt — “an estate whose future is very bright,” says The Wine Advocate, owes its brilliance to the highly skilled Matt Dees, whose soil science degree from the University of Vermont was just a prologue for the years of hands-on expertise he gained working with Burgundian varieties in Santa Barbara. Add to that experience at Staglin in Napa to Craggy Range in New Zealand, and Dees was perfectly suited to mine the wealth of Jonata’s sandy soil. That same mastery of terroir also set Dees up to showcase the flinty, fruity minerality of Chardonnay growing on the rolling hills of The Hilt’s vineyards.

Just as The Hilt grapes grow on the climate margins of these key Santa Barbara growing regions — Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley AVAs — the winery’s philosophy of “growing in the margins” is reflected in their two distinct styles of wine: “The Old Guard,” from elegant clonal selections planted on poorer soils, employing minimalist cellar methods, resulting in minerality and structure; and “The Vanguard,” sourced from robust clones planted in richer soils expressing balance, fruit, and power.

• ABV 13.40%
• Enjoy right away
• % Chardonnay
• Serving temperature – 52°