Bien Nacido Estate Collection Chardonnay 2022

Written By Campbell Mattinson
Mattinson review of Bien Nacido Estate Collection Chardonnay 2022.

Bien Nacido Estate Collection Chardonnay 2022
13.5% alcohol, cork, Santa Maria Valley.

I visited Bien Nacido Estate as part of a focus on sustainability in the Californian wine industry. I came away both impressed with the sustainability focus – “sustainability is the starting point to making a better product,” vineyard manager Greg Gonzalez said – and excited by the wines themselves. This chardonnay was the first wine from the estate that I tasted. It shot my pulse up a notch.

Bien Nacido Estate Collection Chardonnay 2022 is seriously good. It’s so powerful but, also, so balanced. Stonefriut, melon, cream, honey, cedar and woodsmoke characters invigorate the palate, the latter skirting close to smoked bacon. But at every step, the fruit is the champion of this wine, as is the length. This chardonnay spins straight into gorgeous territory. 95 points.

Campbell Mattinson

Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He founded The Winefront, is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion (and former editor of Halliday magazine), and is the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He is 100% independent, and tastes between 5,000 and 10,000 wines each year, blind and in comparative brackets as often as is practicable.

More about Campbell Mattinson

Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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