2023 Sierra Mar Vineyard Chardonnay
Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Tasting Notes
“Medium yellow hue. Aromas of kiwi, pineapple, melon, and coconut start off this brilliant Chardonnay. With some time, secondary notes of papaya, brioche, and orange sorbet round out the profile. These qualities continue on the palate with pitch perfect precision. With silky, yet dense texture, the vibrant acidity provides an expansive and enchanting sensory experience. This wine finishes with amazingly with abundance and focus. Certainly the best Chardonnay we have made from this well-tended site. Enjoy now through 2033.”
~Bill Brosseau, Director of Winemaking
June 2024
“Aromas of yellow plums, apple fritters and lovely layer of gently toasted oak lead to lively flavors of tropical fruit and melon. It’s rich and exuberant, and a crunchy core of minerality provides a counterpoint to all of that generous, joyous flesh. So well made. Drink or hold.”
James Suckling
August 2025
Production Data
Growers: Franscioni Framily
Winemaker: Bill Brosseau
Appellation: Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Elevation/Exposure: 1000 feet; Southeast
Soil: Decomposed granite/gravelly loam
Vineyard Age: 16 years
Viticulture Practice: Sustainable (SIP Certified)
Vinification: Pressed Whole-cluster, fermented in French Oak
Cooperage & Ageing: 43% new
Production: 8 barrels
Composition: 100% Chardonnay (Clone 95 & Clone 96)
Acidity: TBA
Alcohol: 14.2%
Harvest: October 13, 2023, hand harvested
Club Release: July 2025
Release Price: $59
Drink Now through 2033
Past Vintage Wine Scores
“The 2022 Chardonnay Sierra Mar Vineyard is a little more reserved and ethereal than the other Chardonnays in the range, but it’s soft and caressing in the mouth. Hailing from the highest-elevation site in the portfolio, the 2022 is layered, complex and soft-spoken, casting gentle floral tones, nuttiness and a cooling, minty sensation across the palate. This is supremely charming in its subtlety. ”
Billy Norris, Antonio Galloni’s Vinous,
April 2024
“Smoked butterscotch, nutmeg and candied ginger notes make a bold impression up front but are a terrific balance to the grilled pineapple, mango and lemon curd flavors at the core, with terrific concentration and power on the long, expressive finish. A fresh thread of acidity weaves in and out. Drink now. 288 cases made.”
Wine Spectator,
December 2024
“The 2021 Sierra Mar Vineyard Chardonnay offers up notes of almond croissant, Bosc pears, and honeydew melon with hints of chalk dust and coriander seed. The medium-bodied palate has lovely tension, with savory layers and a chalkiness on the finish.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW
The Wine Independent
February 2024
“Lemon curd, apple pie and light butterscotch aromas follow through to a medium to full body, with fresh acidity and a tight and flavorful finish. Slightly salted at the end. Drink or hold.”
JamesSuckling.com
June 2023
“Smooth and juicy, clean and neatly balanced with a core of racy acidity, long and lovely.”
Anthony Dias Blue
The Tasting Panel
June 2021
“Brilliant, green-tinted gold. Mineral-tinged nectarine, orange, iodine, honey and white flowers on the intensely perfumed nose. Smooth, seamless and focused in the mouth, offering juicy orchard and pit fruit flavors that are complemented by suggestions of tarragon, sweet butter, smoky minerals and vanilla nuances. Shows excellent depth as well as vivacity and finishes minerally, chewy and impressively long, with resonating floral and orchard fruit notes. 36% new French oak.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
May 2022
“Clean lines of lemon peel, baked apple and a hint of sea salt show on the nose of this bottling. There’s sip is tightly woven in texture and bright in flavors, offering poached apple and salted peach flavors.”
Matt Kettmann
Wine Enthusiast
“Shimmering straw-yellow. Aromas of poached pear, tangerine and white peach are complicated by toasty lees and floral nuances. Sappy and broad on the palate, offering sappy citrus and orchard fruit, sweet butter and honeysuckle flavors that turn livelier on the back half. Hints of tarragon and ginger emerge on a very long, smoky finish that echoes the floral and pear notes. 46% new French oak.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
October 2020
“Translucent straw-yellow. Deep-pitched, smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of ripe orchard and pit fruits are complemented by pungent floral and vanilla overtones that build with aeration. Palate-coating pear nectar, peach, tangerine and buttered toast flavors pick up a smoky lees nuance on the back half. Deep yet surprisingly lively in character, delivering solid finishing cut and leaving a sexy floral note behind.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
November 2019
Sierra Mar Vineyard
The Sierra Mar Vineyard is owned by the Franscioni Family and is located at one of the highest elevations in the Santa Lucia Highlands at just over 1,000 ft. The land is a dramatic 44-acre site that has been in the Franscioni Family for four generations and was originally part of a 420-acre cattle ranch. The steep and remote vineyard is divided by terrain and alluvial plains into distinct blocks with individual terroir. Gary Franscioni says Sierra Mar’s naturally thin soils, gusting winds, lack of water and high-altitude inaccessibility make for extremely exceptional wines. Testarossa is proud to be able to make wines from all five of the Franscioni/Pisoni properties.