2014 Westerly 'Bentrock Vineyard' Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 750 ml

What lured Adam Henkel to the Sta. Rita Hills

This past fall, we finally caught up with our old friend Adam Henkel at his new perch. We got to know Adam when he was helping continue Harlan Estate and its Bond on it’s path of greatness, working with Bob Levy and Michel Rolland. But after eight years at Harlan, Adam packed up his family and moved south to Santa Ynez, and we wanted to know why.

Soon we were bumping along in Adam’s truck through the westernmost reaches of the appellation. Along the way, Adam told us all about the magnesium-rich, serpentine-laced soils of Happy Canyon, where he’s also writing the next chapter in world-class California Cabernet. Many have been following Adam’s quest to push the limits on quality down in Happy Canyon. His stunning 2013 Crown Point Cabernet lit up the critical scoreboards when it was released in the fall, pulling down 96 points and a “Cellar Selection” from Wine Enthusiast and inspiring Antonio Galloni to call it a “terrific debut.”

But while that Cabernet was maturing, Henkel had the time and encouragement to pursue his enchantment with Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay. Henkel knew the almost impossibly long growing seasons there often mean harvests delayed until late October. Yields are tiny, berries small and sweet and clusters often strewn with Burgundian millerandages. These Chardonnays are often ageless, impervious to oxidation.

Henkel parked the truck about 250 feet up. We huffed and puffed another 250 feet up a steep hillside, then Adam (finally!) stopped to look around. “You can see why I’m attracted to this place and these vines,” he said. Yes, we did. We were standing on the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains. The Santa Ynez River to the east, the water body just to the west was making its presence felt, as powerfully cool, crisp, salt-scented maritime breezes off the Pacific rattled the leaves of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines all around. This was Bentrock Vineyard.

We knew Bentrock from the outstanding Chardonnay sourced here by Sandhi and Liquid Farm; it is a unique single vineyard located on the spectacular Rancho Salsipuedes owned by the illustrious Jonata Winery. Now we fully understood the magnitude of what our friend Adam had proposed when he offered us an allocation of his Bentrock Chardonnay.

The ripe, golden-berry clusters for Westerly’s 2014 Bentrock Vineyard Chardonnay were delicately hand-harvested, then whole-cluster pressed and entirely barrel-fermented in brand new French oak. After 10 months of lees aging, with bimonthly stirring, the wine was bottled in the summer of 2015.

Tasted in the vineyard with Henkel, the 2014 Westerly showed brilliant light-gold to the rim, with piercing aromas of flint-like minerality, white flowers, and citrus. Rich, broad, and mouth-filling with marvelous tension, focus, and weight. Layers of juicy pear and citrus zest create a soft, balanced mouthfeel with a lasting finish. Drinking brilliantly now, but worth exploring over the next 5-7 years.

Wine Enthusiast awarded this gorgeous “attention-grabbing” single-vineyard Chardonnay 93 points. Released at $55, we wouldn’t be able to offer this to WineAccess members today for just $29.99 per bottle but for our long friendship and Adam’s preoccupation launching the Crown Point Cabernet. Opportunities like this just don’t come around all that often.