Tyler Chardonnay “Mae Estate Vineyard” 2022 750ml

The 2022 Chardonnay Mae Estate Vineyard is positively fabulous. It offers a striking mix of mineral-driven tension and textural breadth. There’s a notably increasing finesse in this bottling, likely attributable to vine age. White flowers, pepper, crushed rocks, mint and white pepper all race across the palate. This is such a gorgeous wine.

• Country: United States
• Region: California
• Appellation: Santa Barbara
• Sub Appellation: Santa Rita Hills
• Size: 750ml
• Color: White
• Alcohol by Vol: 13.0%

Varietal

Chardonnay

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.