Dragonette Cellars 2021 "Rita's Crown Vineyard" Chardonnay, Sta. Rita HIlls, Santa Barbara County

Rita's Crown sits majestically above the famous Mt. Carmel monastery at some of the highest elevations in the Sta. Rita Hills (up to 850 feet). Our blocks are located on very steep, south and southwest facing hillsides of clay and silty clay loam with abundant diatomaceous earth. The mighty pacific sends daily fog and intense afternoon winds to this high elevation site, which is perched over the Santa Ynez River as it meanders toward its terminus at Surf Beach. The remoteness and wildness of the site is enhanced by the abandoned wreck of the former monastery, which gives off a feeling of some ancient place like Greece or Italy that is similarly dry, parched and hardscrabble. The wines are as intense as the legends that one conjures in his mind, the skins thick from all the wind, produce strong phenolics, and the dustry dry soil promotes intensity.