2017 Solomon Hills Estate Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley 750 ml

The Solomon Hills vineyard is an undisputed icon of Golden State terroir and has inspired prominent winemakers across the region, including Ojai, Foxen, and Paul Lato. But those chart-topping wines don’t compete with the bottlings Miller Family crafts from their land, like this sensational 2017, which took not just our breath away, but also Antonio Galloni’s: He raved that the 2017 Solomon Hills whites “were positively stunning,” before giving this golden wine 94 points.

With its vibrant golden hue and nose of white flowers, crème fraîche, and hazelnuts the 2017 is a showstopper. Crisp and high energy on the palate with a kiss of sea spray, this is Chardonnay that recalls its French inspiration, with all the verve and cut of the Old World. In fact, if we had “Grand Cru” designations in the United States, Solomon Hills would easily stand alongside other iconic American vineyard sites like Eisele, To Kalon, and Bien Nacido.

Bob and Steve Miller have been charting the nuances of this land since the early 1970s, and fine-tuning their approach vine by vine in all its dirty-fingernailed glory. In this unique strip of California’s Central Coast, at the tip of the Santa Maria Valley, a small plot of Chardonnay thrives atop marine soils that lend this wine its unique minerality and saline finish. We’ve managed to secure just a handful for our members. Lovers of the world’s crisp, bright whites, this one is for you. 

Perhaps even more important than the soil is the temperature during the growing season at Solomon Hills—cool, cool, cool. The vineyard benefits from the extreme cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean less than 20 miles away because the valley faces almost straight onto the sea, allowing strong and unimpeded coastal influence on the local climate. The result is the bright, refreshing acidic backbone of the 2017 Solomon Hills, which recalls the vibrant, invigorating winds that channel into the Solomon Hills vines and imbue the golden Chardonnay grapes with lively balance.

The team at Solomon Hills took that perfect 2017 fruit, harvested at night and pressed whole-cluster, and fermented the juice in French barriques (25% new) with native yeasts, then aged the wine for 16 months on the lees in barrel. Meyer lemon, citrus zest, pineapple, and starfruit dominate the fruit spectrum of this wine, with a kiss of toast and smoke. 

A comparable wine from Napa Valley would surely cost $75, but Solomon Hills’ own estate bottling is far less. Now is the time to see why Antonio Galloni says of Santa Barbara County, “[t]here is no question the best sections are the American equivalents of grand cru sites.”