Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Au Bon Climat — Chardonnay 2023
Santa Barbara County, California, USA 🇺🇸

Overview
A classic Santa Barbara County Chardonnay from Au Bon Climat, reflecting the restrained, balanced style that made Jim Clendenen’s wines such benchmarks for the region. This is Chardonnay without unnecessary theatrics: cool-climate freshness, measured richness, and an easygoing personality that still carries plenty of character.

Aromas & Flavors
Fresh apple, pear, lemon, white peach, and citrus blossom, with subtle vanilla, mineral, and lightly toasted nuances adding complexity without dominating the fruit.

Mouthfeel
Medium-bodied, fresh, and beautifully balanced. The acidity provides just the right amount of tension, while a subtle creamy texture rounds the palate. Clean, composed, and remarkably easy to enjoy.

Food Pairings
Grilled fish, roasted chicken, shrimp, crab cakes, creamy pasta, or simply enjoyed on its own.

Verdict
A solid representation of what Santa Barbara Chardonnay does so well. It has freshness without austerity, texture without heaviness, and enough complexity to remain interesting while being completely approachable. A terrific casual Chardonnay.

Did You Know?
Au Bon Climat was founded by Jim Clendenen in 1982 and became one of the defining producers of cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County, favoring balance and restraint long before those qualities became fashionable in California.

🍷 Personal Pick
This is what I want a casual Santa Barbara Chardonnay to taste like. Affable, balanced, subtly textured, and carrying just enough tension to keep every sip fresh. Nothing overdone and nothing missing. It has officially earned a spot among my New World Chardonnay staples. — 8 days ago

Joseph Barsky

9.5

2019 vintage. Needed time to breathe. Then it sang. — 4 days ago

Ashley Goldsberry

10

Delicious- fruity without being sweet but not dry. — a month ago

michael pandolfo

9.3

A M A Z I N G!!!! Fragrant nose of fresh brioche and warm plums. Slight hint of marzipan. Long finish. Delicious. Love what this have evolved into. — a month ago

Karen Tripson

9.3

Fabulous! Love 100ml format. — 2 months ago

Jay Kline

9.2

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of 90min. The 2024 “White Hill” pours a pale straw color with medium viscosity. On the nose, the wine is developing with bright notes of star fruit, passion fruit, stone fruits, lemons, a touch of freshly struck matchstick, some white flowers and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and slightly saline. I love the character of these wines. Really tasty stuff. Drink now through 2034+. — 3 months ago

Matt Schwartz

9.6

Bright and racy. Lemon, lime, grapefruit and guava with the right amount of minerality. This is epic and for 6 years old it hasn’t lost a single step! Fantastic.

Update: After an hour the sea salt comes out. This really is a fabulous wine. — 3 days ago

Ming L

9.2

The house style is still here with ripe, slightly over extracted blue fruits, baking spices, cocoa, and a plush velvety palate. But the fruits become less confectionary and some savory components have emerged. Acidity seems more apparent. Really nice integration.

I think Pinot bottlings from Belle Glos are at their best with 5-8 years bottle aging. This is another proof. — 17 days ago

Stephen Osgood

9.0

delicious biodynamic Sta Rita pinot. tons of salinity and characteristic terroir. — 18 days ago

Kelley Raymond

9.5

Always a favorite — 10 days ago

Brandon Boesch

9.4

Really nice, good fruit and acidity. Strawberries, herbal quality, other good fruits. — a month ago

Elayna Halikopter

9.6

Very fruit heavy and fresh/clean tasting. Great summer Pinot. May be my new fave la crema — 2 months ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.3

2023 vintage. Banging, as usual, for the price and goes far beyond. 6.24.26. — 3 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.3

Dark garnet color with a ruby core. Aromas of dark berry fruit, forest floor, lavender and smokey vanilla. Flavors of black cherry, blueberry and blackberry fruit with additional flavors of black licorice, baking spices, savory herbs and roasted nuts. That smokey/oaky vanilla flavor extends to the long and silky finish. More weight, heft, power and concentration than your typical Pinot Noir. The bright acidity balances this wine beautifully. Outstanding! Thanks to Kase and Petey for bringing this wine on our 2026 Cape May, NJ vacation. — 7 days ago

Jeff Topping

9.0

Gift from Wes Gentle — 3 days ago

Sharon B

9.5

It’s National Red Wine Day! Let me see your wine! — 20 days ago

Shriya Patnam

9.1

2016 opened at the right time — a month ago

Eric Urbani

9.4

LF always impresses — 2 months ago

Norman

9.5

This one always outperforms expectations. Was told it’s “fire” by GenZ — 2 months ago

Diane Ramcharan

9.7

Finally opening this one up! — 2 months ago

with Michael