2019 Dragonette Cellars Chardonnay Rita's Crown Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills 750 ml

We’ve been waiting for the world to stand up and take notice of Dragonette Cellars—and their 2019 Chardonnay Rita’s Crown might just be the bottle that makes it happen.

With a staggering 96+ point score, this gorgeous Chardonnay boasts the highest rating Dragonette has ever earned from Wine Advocate. It’s an honor that puts this bottle among (and above) some of the most storied names in California Chardonnay—stars like Morlet, Peter Michael, and Williams Selyem. It is, as Antonio Galloni of Vinous has called Dragonette wines, “truly world class.”

Dragonette has a knack for finding the finest vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills, and none tops Rita’s Crown, which is named for its position at the pinnacle of the AVA. Brandon, along with partners John and Steve Dragonette, first laid eyes on the site more than a decade ago…when it looked a lot different.

“Essentially, we were able to tour Rita’s Crown before there was anything planted,” Dragonette co-founder Brandon Sparks-Gillis told us—but it appealed to them immediately.

“We were searching for a site with a strong diatomaceous imprint,” Brandon told us, referring to the soils containing large amounts of silica and rocks as light as feathers—similar to the same prized qualities in the soils of Champagne. Rita’s Crown checked pretty much every other box too.

“It’s a steep hillside planting, the vines struggle, which keeps the yield low,” he explained. “It’s above the fog line on many days and gets hammered by the wind, which adds a heck of a lot of character to the grapes. We definitely sacrifice quantity for quality.”

The result: a premier California Chardonnay that we’ll be talking about for a long time.