2023 Roar Wines, Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands.
Beautifully pale and bright gold in the glass, the 2023 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay from Roar perfectly captures the vintage and region in the glass with depth of flavors, concentration and vibrant tension, all highlighted from this cool year and long hang time, making for a classic and rewarding wine. The nose is aromatic, with white flowers, stone fruit and subtle oak toast, leading to a ful bodied palate of apple, pear, lemon curd, golden fig, pineapple and peach fruits, along with a hint of lime zest, clove spice, wet stones, a touch of leesy hazelnut and a delicately creamy mouth feel. There’s just enough tropical notes to let you know it is a SLH Chardonnay, this vintage has produced stunning stuff that has California impact, but with Burgundy class, I highly recommend them, especially these Roar bottlings. This cuvée is blended from Roar’s estate Rosella’s Vineyard, along with the Soberanes and Sierra Mar vineyards, which they farm with the Pisoni family. This vintage, quite powerful and nicely textured, without flabby weight, was fermented and aged in French oak, with 32% new, and was matured for 15 months, allowing the full extent of its deep character to come through.
Roar, founded the Francsioni family and one of the famous Garys, after the release of their 2000 vintage, who are best known for Pinot Noir, also do a fine selection of Chardonnay snd Rhônes, including Syrah, Viognier and even a micro batch of Grenache. The Roar winery say the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, in Monterey County, benefits from a rare combination of abundant sunshine and a powerful cooling influence from the Monterey Bay’s deep submarine canyon. The daily afternoon winds, reaching up to 25 mph, slow down ripening, enhance phenolic development, and create wines with exceptional depth, balance, and aging potential. The long growing season, free from the threat of fall rains, allows winemakers to achieve optimal ripeness while preserving vibrant acidity. All of which have proven true for Roar over the quarter of a century they’ve been making wines, some of the region’s most sought after, and the future looks just as bright for them, especially after tasting a few of their latest releases. I was able to taste this limited release at the Santa Lucia Highlands gala in May of 2025, and I also was blessed to try a library bottle of 2012 Rosella’s Pinot, which was absolutely gorgeous and easily could age another 10 years with ease! These wines are tough to find and I suggest getting on their mailing list to get at least a small selection of these iconic efforts!
($49 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive