2019 Rusack Vineyards Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley is sold out.

Sign up to receive notifications when wines from this producer become available

Old-vine Chardonnay from California’s #1 “Grand Cru” site

Wine Bottle
  • 95 pts Wine Enthusiast
    95 pts WE
  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

2019 Rusack Vineyards Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 750 ml

Sold Out

Sign up to receive notifications when wines from this producer become available.
  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

Food & Wine’s #1 California Vineyard in 2022

Few California vineyards are more celebrated than Bien Nacido: Wine & Spirits named it one of the “Top 25 Vineyards in the World.” The Wall Street Journal listed it among the “Top Five California Vineyards,” while Wine Enthusiast called it one of “California’s Grand Cru” sites for Chardonnay. 

But not every block in Bien Nacido is equal. 

Block I, a little-known section of the vineyard, is a unique viticultural treasure featuring 50-year old, own-rooted Chardonnay vines planted in sandy soil. First planted in 1973, the parcel puts out some of the most gorgeous and concentrated Chardonnay in the state—and it provided the lion’s share of the 2019 Rusack Bien Nacido Chardonnay.

Located 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean on the northern end of the Santa Maria Valley AVA, Bien Nacido receives maritime morning fog and cool afternoon breezes that imbue the grapes with vivid fruit purity and saline freshness. The inimitable diversity of gravel, sandy marine loam, and calciferous clay soils adds chiseled mineral elegance and earthy complexity. 

Block I is a completely unique portion of this sacred vineyard, encompassing less than 2% of its Chardonnay. The parcel was planted back in 1973, which means that its vines now boast a half-century in age. Because they grow in pest-resistant sandy soils, these old vines have never had to be grafted onto American rootstock, and they are now producing tiny quantities of Chardonnay berries that absolutely brim with flavor and character.

“I was quite impressed with the [2019] wines I tasted from Rusack this year,” wrote Antonio Galloni in 2022. “Winemaker Steve Gerbac certainly got the most out of the 2019 vintage,” he continued. What a phenomenal wine, and bargain.