2020 Ojai Vineyard Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley 750 ml

Ojai’s Bien Nacido Chardonnay is one of California’s iconic white wines—one you’ll find on the wine lists at MICHELIN-starred restaurants like Le Bernardin and Eleven Madison Park—and the 2020 edition shows exactly why it’s a perennial favorite.

A stunning expression of legendary winemaker Adam Tolmach’s skill and one of the top sites in California, this is as good as Santa Barbara Chardonnay gets. Ripe and bold, showing flavors of Asian pear and Honeycrisp apple layered with earth and spice, it’s perfectly balanced and rippling with mouthwatering vibrancy—an absolute joy to drink. 

Some winemakers would say that Ojai Vineyard and Tolmach are like the Velvet Underground in influence and esteem. That’s true, but the comparison misses the Tom Petty-like string of hits Tolmach is STILL putting out—and none is more monumental than the Bien Nacido Chardonnay.

Named one of the “Top 25 Vineyards in the World” by Wine & Spirits, included among the “Top Five California Vineyards” by the Wall Street Journal, and crowned one of “California’s Grand Cru Chardonnay Vineyards'' by Wine Enthusiast, Bien Nacido produces incomparable Chardonnay. Tolmach recognized this back in 1991, and he’s harvested grapes from the same block ever since.

Located 20 miles from the Pacific 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 fruit purity and saline freshness. The diversity of gravel, sandy marine loam, and calciferous clay soils add chiseled mineral elegance and earthy complexity.

Vinous said Ojai Vineyard’s wines are “a terrific opportunity to explore the personalities of a number of top sites at prices that are exceedingly fair." Time to get exploring.