2014 Dolin Malibu Estate Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley 750 ml

Johnny Cash Bassist’s Bien Nacido Chardonnay

Those of you who recall “Operator” by the Manhattan Transfer should listen closely to the bass track, because Dolin Estate owner Elliot Dolin originated the bass line for the original band in the early 1970s. Dolin later recorded with the likes of Johnny Cash and Don Everly. He is a pioneer who helped establish the Malibu AVA with his world-class vineyard planted just outside his house, overlooking the Pacific. His 2014 Dolin Chardonnay from the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard marries supple fruit with mouthwatering acidity, coupled with impressive toasty brioche notes. It’s no wonder Wine Enthusiast scored it 93 points calling it “complex and awesome.” Dolin’s winemaker is after all one of the best: Kirby Anderson of Buena Vista, Bernardus and Gainey fame. 

If you love the Chardonnays of Ojai, Foxen, and Longoria from the famous Bien Nacido Vineyard in chilly Santa Maria Valley (one of the coldest microclimates in California), you’re about to meet a Bien Nacido newcomer who is poised to join the list as a giant of masterful Chardonnay off this California Grand Cru site. Elliot Dolin and winemaker Kirby Anderson are producing masterful Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays under the Dolin label from the best sites in California’s Central Coast — like Bien Nacido.  

Situated at the western edge of the Santa Maria Bench, on alluvial terraces and hills above the Sisquoc River, Bien Nacido Vineyard enjoys summer temperatures moderated first by morning fog, then by stiff breezes off the Pacific. The soils are deep, comprised of silty clay loam and shale. The resulting Chardonnays, in the right hands, combine New World vibrancy with Old World complexity.