Staff Notes:
"The 2022 Chardonnay (Santa Barbara County) is a fabulous introduction to this range. Orchard fruit, citrus, white flowers and mint give the 2022 lovely aromatic presence. The blend of Santa Maria, Sta. Rita Hills and Los Alamos fruit works so well in this bottling. Justin Willett continues to expand his formidable empire. Readers will note a number of new releases in this year’s collection. When I first met Willett, a dozen years ago, Tyler was a new winery working exclusively with purchased fruit. Today, Tyler owns two estate vineyards, the new Mae Estate and the historic Fiddlestix, both in the Sta. Rita Hills, and produces a far wider range of wines. That is a dramatic transformation in a very short period of time. In general, the Chardonnays see 10 months in barrel followed by 6-8 months in tank. The Pinots spend 18 months in barrel, 33-100% new depending on the wine, with minimal to no racking during that time. There are a ton of highlights here . . ." 91 Antonio Galloni, Vinous

"Our Santa Barbara County Chardonnay is comprised of fruit from various high quality vineyard sites throughout the county, with the majority grown at the the Kick-on Ranch. This bottling is intended to provide great value and represenation, while keeping focus on quality and typicity. The chardonnay is whole cluster pressed to tank, settled briefly before being moved to another tank for fermentation. After fermentation is active, the juice goes down to 228L barrels and 500L puncheons. We perform no battonage and the wine goes through full Malolactic Fermentation. The wine is left on lees for 11 months before going back to tank for an additional few months of aging. The result is a fresh and bright style of chardonnay carrying a citrus, mineral, and marine profile - very much "Santa Barbara"." Tyler