Photo Courtesy of Racines Wine

Burgundy Class In Santa Rita Hills
Must Have Chardonnay & Pinot Noir

Santa Rita Hills is a magical swath of vineyards in Santa Barbara County, home to some of the finest vineyards for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in California. It is no wonder that the work of Tyler Winery, Domaine de la Cote, Sandhi, and Sanford to name a few have caught the attention of vignerons in France.

Enter Etienne de Montille and Rodolphe Peters. De Montille is one of Burgundy’s great families, whose holdings today encompasses a bevy of the greatest Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards. Champagne Pierre Peters is the master of Chardonnay from the famed slopes in Les Mesnil-sur-Orger that has defined “Grower Champagne” and single vineyard expressions. When these two leading producers realized they both had interest in producing wines outside of France, they decided to collaborate together with their common friend, winemaker and “American Vigneron” Justin Willett of Tyler and Brian Sieve of Domaine de Montille.

Thus, Racines was born with a marvelous collection of vineyard parcels that Willett has worked with and sourced from for years. With Willett’s connection to the farmers and properties of the Sta. Rita Hills and his desire to get his friends set up from day one, Racines is starting right out of the gate with simply some of the best sites in the valley. To further cement Racines investment and dedication to Sta. Rita Hills, de Montille has signed a long-term lease of the famed Wenzlau Vineyards, giving them the opportunity to lay the foundation for creating an estate program. The 2018 Vintage is the debut of the Racines Wenzlau Chardonnay and it is an absolute beauty.

The wines are inherently Sta. Rita Hills, yet they have an old-world sensibility. The 2019 Vintage, only the third vintage for Racines, is an absolute home run. These are extremely compelling examples of great wine and what de Montille and his team are going to produce in the coming years with the help of Peters and Willet. The refinement and precision that these wines showcase while holding true to the powerful nature of these sites is impressive. These are textural wines with loads of freshness and acidity. The lemon confit, lemon curd, lemon peel and white floral attributes are stellar and juxtaposed with the power, weight and extremely long stony and salty finishes. 

These are truly exceptional Chardonnays that live up to the expectations and make you wonder and excited for the “Champagne” that has finally come! The debut of the Racines Grand Reserve is wonderful and a wine that speaks volumes to the generosity and richness of the Santa Rita Hills. Lastly, we cannot forget the Pinot Noir. De Montille is, of course, an estate known for their Pommard and Volnay, a property that embraces structure and powerful wines with the use of whole cluster. The wines of Etienne and winemaker Brian Sieve have refined de Montille over the years bringing increased florality and refinement to the wines. Here in the Santa Rita hills, amongst two of the greatest sites for Pinot Noir, the team nailed it in 2019. Sanford and Benedict is a powerhouse and wine that will last decades. La Rinconada is explosive, bold, powerful and sultry. It is a wine that grabs you and won’t let go.

These are not Burgundy, nor are they trying to be. Racines are pure refined and substantive wines with character. They are delicious and well worth the taste now and years to come.

Cheers,
Jeremy