2022 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay
Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Tasting Notes
“Medium yellow hue. Aromas of fig, apple, banana, orange fuse nicely with notes of butterscotch and melon. These qualities persist once on the palate and continue to expand their layers. Very balanced Chardonnay showcasing the breadth of the Santa Lucia Highlands. With the supple finish, this wine should drink now through 2029.”
~Bill Brosseau, Director of Winemaking
March 2024
“Equilibrium is this wine’s calling card. Fruity with savory notes; fresh acidity but also rich, ripe flavors; all too easy to drink but with a firm backbone and a long flavorful finish. We’ve always been fans of this Santa Lucia Highlands vineyard blend, and this vintage is no different. pH 3.50, 14.2% alc.” Don Winkler, International Wine Review, May 2024
“Laden with ripe golden apples and Bartlett pears and accented by pastry spices, this full-bodied wine is rich in mouthfeel. A creamy texture and light acidity mingle with vanilla bean, cream and butter accents. Sustainable. Drink now.” JamesSuckling.com, May 2024
Production Data
Growers: Various
Winemaker: Bill Brosseau
Appellation: Santa Lucia Highlands
Viticulture Practice: Sourced from Certified Sustainable vineyards
Vinification: Pressed Whole-cluster, fermented in French Oak
Cooperage & Ageing: 12 months in French oak, 25% new
Production: 79 Barrels
Composition: 100% Chardonnay
Acidity: 3.50 pH, 6.90 TA
Alcohol: 14.2%
Harvest: August 25 – September 17, 2022, hand harvested
Release Price: $46
Drink Now through 2029
Past Vintage Wine Scores
“The beautifully balanced Santa Lucia Highlands blend shows scents of ripe tropical and stone fruit with a dash of honeyed oak. In the mouth, it’s creamy with fresh, ripe flavors of citrus and baked orchard fruit and good acidity. Optimal combination of oak and luscious fruit. Similar in many respects to the 2019 vintage of this wine. Aged 11 months in 40% new French oak.”
Don Winkler
International Wine Reviewt
February 2023
“The 2021 Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands) is a very pretty and classy wine. Orchard fruit, mint, tangerine peel and light tropical notes grace this airy, understated Chardonnay. All the elements are so well balanced.”
Antonio Galloni
Vinous
November 2023
“Light nectarine, soft peach cream and lemon balm aromas make for a complex array of aromas on the nose of this bottling. There’s a touch of sea salt on the palate, where stone-fruit and lime flavors are clean and fresh.”
Matt Kettmann
Wine Enthusiast
November 2022 Issue
“The 2019 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands has ripe, tropical-tinged fruits on the nose with touches of honeysuckle and roasted almonds. The medium-bodied palate has concentrated, creamy fruits, refreshing acidity and a long, nutty finish.”
Erin Brooks
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
December 2022
“Also Burgundian in style, this white is stark, clean and edgy after 11 months of aging in French oak. Its high-impact acidity ties into notes of lemon wedge and vanilla cream–topped Asian pear.”
Meridith May
The SOMM Journal
June/July 2021
“Light yellow. Musky pear and Meyer lemon scents are complemented by subtle fennel and chamomile notes. Taut and lively on the palate, offering vibrant citrus and orchard fruit and honeysuckle flavors that show very good energy and back-end lift. Finishes fresh and lively, showing firm tension and leaving a repeating floral note behind.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
November 2019
“Bright golden color; smooth and lush with toasty notes and racy acidity; ripe and juicy, rich and tangy, balance.”
Anthony Dias Blue
SOMM Journal
June 2018
“Silky and elegant with bright, juicy fruit; crisp and smooth, subtle and refined.”
Anthony Dias Blue
“Bright yellow-gold. Deep-pitched aromas of poached pear, white peach and honey gain vivacity from a lemon zest accent. Smooth, supple and broad in style, offering pliant, smoke-tinged orchard and pit fruit flavors that tighten up slowly in the midpalate. Smoothly blends richness and vivacity and finishes sappy and long; a dusty mineral quality lends focus and cut.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
October 2016
“Almost as good as some of the winery’s best single-vineyard bottlings, this wine has a tremendous nose that offers tangerine blossom, pink grapefruit skin, sea salt and toast around a line of graphite. The palate presents juicy nectarine and ripe citrus alongside yeasty sizzle, salt and a chalk minerality.”
Wine Enthusiast
“The 2012 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands, which comes from the Fogstone and Lone Oak Vineyards, offers an outstanding array of ripe apple fruits, crème and hints of butterscotch to go with a medium to full-bodied, rounded, supple style that stays fresh and clean. Aged ten months in 16% new French oak, it’s a beautiful, classy Chardonnay to drink over the coming couple of years.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“While Testarossa specializes in single-vineyard wines, this basic appellation blend is solid. It’s crisp in acidity and amply oaked, with powerful pineapple and peach jam, buttered toast and sweet vanilla flavors. This wine calls for dramatic Chardonnay fare, such as lobster and crab.”
Wine Enthusiast
Santa Lucia Highlands
Working closely with the top vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands’ appellation, Testarossa has produced yet another distinctive vintage of this highly anticipated Chardonnay. The Highlands is one of the state’s best known regions for world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The area’s close proximity to Monterey Bay makes for a very cool climate, with one of California’s longest growing seasons. The resulting slow, gentle ripening allows for full flavor development on the vine. Testarossa’s production team’s partnership with the best estates in the Santa Lucia Highlands ensure only the highest quality fruit makes it to the winery.