Samuel Louis Smith Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay Spear Vineyard 2024 champagne-template lifted with energy

lifted with energy

This is Champagne with broad shoulders — toasty

lemon balm and santolina (a slightly bitter Mediterranean shrub in the chamomile family)

Waterhorse Ridge sits among California's coolest Cabernet vineyards

Samuel Louis Smith Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay Spear Vineyard 2024 champagne-template lifted with energySpear Vineyard is one of the most talked about young sites in the Sta. Rita Hills planted in 2014, farmed organically by Ofer Shepher, climbing steep north facing slopes along Highway 246 with marine clay, sand, and chert in the soil. Sam Smith the former Morgan winemaker turned micro negociant treats the fruit with restraint, fermenting on native yeast in tank with partial malolactic, then aging in a mix of new and neutral oak plus stainless. The