2019 Bernardus Winery Chardonnay Rosella’s Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands 750 ml

Winemaker Dean De Korth’s CV bears some of the greatest Chardonnay names on the planet, including Burgundy icons like Domaines Leflaive, Comtes Lafon, and Pierre Morey. So when he signed on at Bernardus, he conducted his vineyard search with the same relentless selectivity his mentors did.

After extensive research, he discovered superstar grower Gary Franscioni’s Rosella’s Vineyard—a plot in the Santa Lucia Highlands that the Wine Advocate called a “first-rate site—and this big, brassy-gold 2019 ratifies the vineyard’s accolades. Sporting 93 points and Editors’ Choice honors from Wine Enthusiast, it’s an ocean-influenced Chardonnay showing perfectly balanced richness, roundness, and spice complexity. 

We waited three years to get this allocation, and this 2019 comes with an even higher score than any other Bernardus Rosella’s Vineyard bottles we’ve offered.

On the southeastern-facing slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountains, Rosella’s Chardonnay vines thrive under blankets of thick morning fog and afternoon sun, tempered by breezes off Monterey Bay. With their depth of flavor and bright acidity, the densely concentrated grapes that grow there go into ROAR’s Chardonnay and have attracted heavyweights like Saxon Brown and Testarossa.

This is the balance of opulence and edge you get when you give a Meursault-trained star some of California’s best Chardonnay. Luscious, polished, and showing ample energy, the wine’s tropical- and tree-fruits give way to intricate notes of allspice, clove, and vanilla from a rest in 44% new French oak.