Linda prepared a Chicken Kiev casserole dinner with chicken, ham and Swiss cheese served with brown rice.
I pulled from the cellar this old world style Chardonnay from Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County.
Established in 2009, Liquid Farm is a small production producer of Old World style Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from a dozen vineyard sources throughout Santa Barbara County including one of the coolest of California AVA's – the Sta. Rita Hills.
Liquid Farms is owned and operated by Jeff Nelson, a twenty year wine business veteran who worked for some of the top French Champagne and Burgundy houses. He started the oddly named Liquid Farm in 2009 in collaboration with Brandon Sparks-Gillis of Dragonette Cellars and winemaker James Sparks.
The name Liquid Farm was derived to ‘create awareness about what happens above ground and below ground, and tell the story of how both are inextricably linked to wine, a product of the earth and the human touch - Liquid from Farming’.
Liquid Farms based in Los Olivos, CA, started in 2009 with only 4 barrels of Chardonnay, two from the White Hill vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, and two barrels with a profile of warmer tones and more textured reminiscent of Meursault and wines from the Côte d' Or (Slope of Gold), hence to be named ‘Golden Slope’.
Liquid Farms based in Los Olivos, CA, started in 2009 with only 4 barrels of Chardonnay, two from the White Hill vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills, and two barrels with a profile of warmer tones and more textured reminiscent of Meursault and wines from the Côte d' Or (Slope of Gold), hence to be named ‘Golden Slope’.
Since then, they expanded the portfolio with chardonnay grapes from other vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills and the neighboring sister AVA of Santa Maria.
In 2011 they added a Bandol-inspired Rosé of Mourvedre sourced from Happy Canyon AVA. In 2014, they produced their first of four Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noirs. They gained notoriety after being highlighted in 2013 by the Los Angeles Times and by Eric Asimov of the New York Times, and gaine praise from critics including Steve Tanzer. Thereafter, the tiny production hand-crafted wines would sell out quickly.
In 2021, they added their first blanc de blancs Champagne, imported from the famous Côte des Blancs Grand Cru in collaboration with Pertois-Moriset (a family-owned Champagne House with over 70 years of history), and released under the Liquid Farm label.
The Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County is uniquely situated East to West (most mountain valleys are North-South). This allows cool ocean air to come inland and creates the perfect environment for cool-climate wines Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as warmer climate wines like their Mourvedre based Rosé.
We toured the area during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience in the spring of 2022 - see samples of numerous posts at https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/search?q=Los+Olivos and https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/05/zaca-mesa-winery-and-vineyards-visit.html.
The Liquid Farm label is a da Vinci-type sketch of dandelion root from artist Val Littlewood, a nature illustrator from the UK. She was able to crafted her fatefully misnamed beet root drawing into the Liquid Farm image by coloring the bulb and adding in the flower (figuratively, the grape) that transports what is found below ground to "above ground."
Liquid Farm "White Hill" Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay 2022
This 2022 White Hill Chardonnay is sourced from vineyards throughout the Sta. Rita Hills AVA - 43% Hilltop, 17% Clos Pepe, 17% Spear, 14% Kessler-Haak and 9% Rita’s Crown.
It was fermented in neutral French oak and aged 10 months in a combination of neutral oak and stainless steel
Winemaker’s tasting notes - “Meyer Lemon, river rock, chalk, tangerine zest and white flowers. Bright acidity, tense but with a very satisfying round mouthfeel. We take inspiration for this wine from the famed Chardonnays of Chablis. The pronounced acidity and precision of this wine lend to its agability and appeal to those that prefer a leaner style of Chardonnay.”
Winemaker’s tasting notes - “Meyer Lemon, river rock, chalk, tangerine zest and white flowers. Bright acidity, tense but with a very satisfying round mouthfeel. We take inspiration for this wine from the famed Chardonnays of Chablis. The pronounced acidity and precision of this wine lend to its agability and appeal to those that prefer a leaner style of Chardonnay.”
1000 cases were made
This was rated 94 points by Vinous.
Golden colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant aromatic and expressive tropical fruits with notes of floral, tangerine, chalk, mineral and hints of mint on the tangy acidic finish
RM 91 points.
