Producer · California, USA

Racines

Racines is a collaboration between Etienne de Montille, of the well-regarded Burgundy domaine, and Brian Sieve, the American-born winemaker who ran the cellar at Domaine de Montille in Volnay. The project is centred on the Sta. Rita Hills, an area at the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley where the Pacific fog rolls in daily and the growing season is long and cool, and it makes Chardonnay and Pinot Noir there.

The Burgundian influence is clear in the winemaking: high-acid fruit, measured oak, and a preference for texture over extraction. The result is Chardonnay with real minerality and length, closer in spirit to the Côte de Beaune than to the richer, more tropical styles the region can produce. These are serious wines from a partnership that knows exactly what it is trying to make.

Winery at Lompoc, California · Chardonnay · £63.95 a bottle