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. — 13 days ago

S.S. Mandani

9.1

Perfumed red fruits.

Cherry, zippy structure, earthen, licorice, fennel. — 7 months ago

Ray Vanderhoff

9.1

Primarily Narello Mascalese. Light ruby color with garnet highlights. Lovely aromas of strawberry, minerals and copper. The palate also features strawberries, raspberries, orange and fresh herbs. Hint of Smokey tar on the finish. Medium body and tannins. Beautifully elegant and well crafted. Wonderfully consistent vintage to vintage. Thank you for opening this one, Ron B! — 3 years ago

Gene Harlow

9.5

2019 blend and it is outstanding. This is a fun find and seriously good! Dark fruits with a great balance of oak. Elyse has really done well with this deep balanced red blend. — 3 years ago

Hawk Bear

9.0

Smooth and not too oaked. Got in wine club shipment — 4 years ago

Bob Bobson

10

E en anne yılbaşı — 6 years ago

Jeroen Koenen

9.2

🌋 🍋 🌼 💎 🌊 🫚 🍈🍍 — 14 days ago

Amy

9.0

master the world — loved!! — 3 months ago

Ana Bumgardner

9.0

2024 vintage on 3/15/26 at Sanaa (Indian food). Very good chard. — 6 months ago

Jenks

9.0

Apparently this translates to “up all night” or something heeeeeyyyyy — 2 years ago

Seth Masterson

9.0

Amazing that this is 9.5% because it's so easy to drink a 750mL bottle. It really is wine quality. I have a hard time identifying the nose on beers but it reminds me of being inside the cow feed silo as a kid. It smells like late summer harvest left to ferment.
It's a very clean taste of...... Wheat grass? — 3 years ago

Ola Lenin

9.3

Schoolbook pinot with warm strawberry and sloeberry fruit. Cranberries on the finish. Some oak and spices on the finish. Simply very enjoyable! — 4 years ago

Justin Lintz

9.2

Good everyday — 5 years ago

Michael Bontà

9.5

Clear pale salmon. Medium + intensity on the nose with strawberry, blood orange, geranium leaf, pink grapefruit, tomato leaf, white peach. On the palate dry, medium + acidity, medium + intensity medium body, long finish and medium alcohol with notes of grapefruit, red cherry, grass, white peach and something plastic that I can't quite identify but isn't undesirable. Outstanding wine and fun to drink on its own without food. Creamy and sophisticated — 2 months ago

S.S. Mandani

9.1

Peppers, cherries, black pepper, star anise.

Tart cherry, light peppercorn, nice front palate tannins. A bit of earth. — 6 months ago

Jakub Kalinowski

9.2

Super concentrated & quite aromatic. Salty beach pebbles, ripe apricots, but also a bit of salted caramel, tarte tatin and a lot of rocky, salty minerality. Intriguing.
Quite unctuous & rich on the palata, but also very fresh - zingy acidity, salty minerality countering the richness. This is definitely a food wine… but such an interesting one. Not everyone’s cup of tea but I love it! — 2 years ago

Eric I

9.2

Great wine to pair with an LSU loss — 3 years ago

Michael Chelus

9.0

Apple, lemon candy, dried apricot, oak and hints of peach. Great acidity and balance. — 4 years ago

Michael Chelus

9.2

Cherry, cranberry, rhubarb, blackberry, mossy earth and oak. Light-bodied and moderate tannins. — 5 years ago

Michael Wilson

8.9

For @Scott Gregory — 6 years ago