Vintage Clendenen Family Vineyards Chardonnay Le Bon Climat 2013

Jim Clendenen was famous for producing internationally acclaimed Pinot Noir & Chardonnay in California. Amongst the region’s top producers, the wines he started producing in 1982 set the standard for modern, terroir-driven Californian wine from Burgundian grapes. Wines under the Clendenden Family Vineyards label are not just another label – this was a project of passion for Jim. These are artisan, nuanced wines from small lots producing distinctive wines that have had the luxury to be in the barrel as long as they need it. Long-lived, food-friendly, with firm acidity and moderate alcohol, they are really special parts of Jim’s story that we are honoured to import and represent in the UK.

Le Bon Climat is a vineyard Jim bought many years ago in the Santa Maria Valley just 5 miles from the famous Bien Nacido site where the winery is. It is situated on a very steep, windy and cool-climate site which gives incredible preserved aromatics in the wines that are made from there.

On the nose, it’s instantly captivating with lavender and lilac lifted by citrus zest. A parade of layered flavours rolls through from citrus, florals to minerality and finishing with a crystalline, saline edge. The palate is light yet mouth-filling, carrying a quiet power that slowly unfurls. This is Chardonnay at its most refined, very well-balanced, intense. Try it with any salmon dish for a perfect pairing.