2022 Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay
Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Tasting Notes
“Pale straw hue. Brilliant scents of pineapple, apple, fig, key lime pie, and coconut. Upon taste, these traits sail into the plush and vibrant palate. As this wine finishes it’s journey with your senses, it ends with decadence and deliciousness. Enjoy now through 2032.”
~Bill Brosseau, Director of Winemaking
February 2024
“Lightly buttered popcorn and lemon curd aromas meet with oak spice on the nose of this bottling. There’s a firm grip to the sip, offering lean flavors of lemon pith, crisp apple and delicately soft butter.” Matt Kettmann, Wine Enthusiast, May 2024
“The 2022 Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay features honeysuckle, honeydew melon, and guava notes on the nose, leading to touches of lime leaves and nutmeg. The medium-bodied palate has lovely purity, with a refreshing line and steely finish.” Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent, February 2024
Production Data
Growers: Franscioni Family
Winemaker: Bill Brosseau
Appellation: Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Elevation/Exposure: 300 – 400 feet; East
Soil: Sandy, gravelly loam
Vineyard Age: 26 years
Viticulture Practice: Sustainable (SIP Certified)
Vinification: Pressed Whole-cluster, fermented in French Oak
Cooperage & Ageing: 12 months in 100% French oak, 40% new
Production: 9 barrels
Composition: 100% Chardonnay (Clone 76, Clone 96)
Acidity:3.22 pH, 7.6 TA (g/L)
Alcohol: 14.3%
Harvest: September 17, 2022, hand harvested
Club Release: February 2024
Release Price: $57
Drink Now through 2032
Past Vintage Wine Scores
“Flashy, with honeysuckle and spice aromatics to take on the impressive core of mango, lemon oil, honey and ripe melon. Offers peach, apricot, papaya and dried pineapple flavors on the long, juicy finish. Drink now. 350 cases made.”
MaryAnn Worobiec
Wine Spectator
May 2023
“Creamy and deep, with layered flavors, ripe pear fruit and subtle but balanced acidity, long and rich.”
Anthony Dias Blue
July 2022
“Here is a Chardonnay that places a premium on fresh, very lively fruit, and, if seeming a bit tight and simple on initial nosing, it gradually reveals a serious sense of fruity depth as it sits in the glass with elements of slightly juicy apples merging with those of sweet limes along with glimmers of stony soil and a trim touch of oaky sweetness. It is deep, but it is not yet as expansive or as fully filled out as it will be once it has had some cellar time, and, although it earns enthusiastic endorsement for its vibrancy and terrific energy, it is not half as good now as it promises to be upon reaching its fourth or fifth anniversary.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
May 2022
“Limpid gold. Mineral-accented nectarine, orange, pear and white flowers on the assertively perfumed nose. Silky, tightly focused and dry in the mouth, offering vibrant orchard and pit fruit flavors that are complemented by suggestions of fennel, sweet butter and candied lemon zest. Shows excellent depth as well as vivacity. Finishes minerally, smoky and impressively long, with lingering citrus fruit and floral notes. 29% new French oak.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
May 2022
“The Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay begins with a perfumed bouquet of citrus and pear with orange blossom and mineral accents. The perfume persists in the mouth with optimally ripened fruit and toasty oak notes. Seamless and with good depth, this is one of the best Chardonnays we’ve had from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Sourced from Gary and Rosella Franscioni’s 50 acre Rosella’s Vineyard planted in 1996 with Dijon clones 76, 95 and 96. It lies just north of Garys’ Vineyard and is just about in the center of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA with a southeast aspect. Matured 14 months in 29% new French oak.”
International Wine Review
October 2021
“Lush, toasty nose, silky smooth texture with subtle toast and a core of firm acidity; rich and yet totally balanced with a graceful, long finish.”
Anthony Dias Blue
September 2020
“The only Testarossa 2018 Chardonnay under review this month, this outstanding wine shows off both the virtues of a very good vintage and the extended reach and extra polish that can come with even a bit of extra age. It is big, it is deep and it is rich but it is also impeccably balanced with the kind of structure and very fine meshing of its many parts to make a convincing case that it is not yet nearing its best. We certainly would not refuse a glass if offered right now but candidly admit that we would wait for another year or two before opening a bottle of our own.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
May 2021
“Pale shimmering gold. Suavely oak-spiced pear, nectarine and Meyer lemon qualities on the nose, joined by floral and vanilla notes as the wine opens up. Juicy and expansive in the mouth, displaying intense orchard and pit fruit flavors energized by zesty mineral and candied ginger flourishes. Plays richness off energy with a smooth hand and finishes very long and lively, delivering resonating florality and a smoky mineral nuance.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
November 2019
“Brilliant yellow. Mineral-accented pear and nectarine scents show excellent clarity. Hints of vanilla, anise and jasmine build in the background. Sappy and expansive on the palate, offering concentrated orchard and citrus fruit flavors that are sharpened by a bracing jolt of gingery spices. Finishes sweet, focused and impressively long, with the mineral and floral notes repeating.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
“Delicate and mineral-driven aromas of rain on slate, wet cement, apple blossom and light marcona almond show on this bottling from one of the appellation’s most beloved vineyards. There is a great sizzle of acidity and strong chalk flavors on the sip, which is laser-sharp and focused on grapefruit pith flavors.”
Wine Enthusiast
“Light, clean and citrusy aromas of lemon, lime and grapefruit skin meet with a dollop of white peach and dusting of crushed slate on the nose of this wine. A fine-pointed acidity carries nectarine, pluot and Asian pear flavors across the palate, which trends racy, bright and slightly sour, with a chalky structure.”
Wine Enthusiast
Matt Kettmann
October 2016
“This wine from the Franscioni family’s home vineyard shows tight aromas of lime candy, chalky rock, Pink Lady apple, sliced mandarin orange and a hint of honeysuckle. The palate is full of energy, with a wide range of orange flavors, from Pixie tangerines to Creamsicles, with a touch of honey on the finish.”
Wine Enthusiast
“One of the standouts in the lineup, the 2012 Chardonnay Rosella’s Vineyard has knockout purity and precision to go with a medium-bodied, elegant, seamless style. Dried herbs, mineral, stone fruits and hints of toast all emerge from this classy white, and it can be consumed anytime over the coming 3-5 years, possibly longer.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Santa Lucia Highlands chardonnays can be generous, but few deliver that natural fruit sweetness with as much energy as this wine. There’s a golden glow to it, a depth of fruit that’s hard to ignore, shot through with aromas of chamomile and crushed raspberries. There’s some oak here too, a toasted hazelnut edge to the wine that feel completely appropriate, but mostly the wine’s about the beautiful lift of its fruit. It seems to capture both the cool fog and sunny afternoons of coastal California, and would be perfect with roast sea bass.”
Wine & Spirits Magazine
April 2014
The Rosella’s Vineyard
Rosella’s Vineyard is one of the most renowned estates in the Santa Lucia Highlands. It is owned by Gary and Rosella Franscioni. Originally planted in 1996, Rosella’s has forty acres of ‘Pisoni clone’ Pinot Noir and ten acres of Dijon clone Chardonnay. The property’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. Two acres each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of Rosella’s are allocated annually to Testarossa.