Brewer-Clifton

Brewer-Clifton is a Santa Barbara producer long associated with the cooler reaches of the California coast, particularly Sta. Rita Hills, where the Pacific influence keeps temperatures down and acids bright. Greg Brewer's approach with Chardonnay leans deliberately spare: no tricks, no heavy oak programme, just the fruit doing the work.

Across the range, the wines share a restraint and precision that sets them apart from richer, more manipulated California Chardonnay. The diatomaceous earth soils of Sta. Rita Hills give a mineral quality to the wines that is distinctly un-Californian, which is very much the point.