Domaine de la Côte
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At sunrise on Monday, October 13th, we harvested our cherished Juliet Chardonnay. As the last grapes of the 2025 vintage were picked, the fog broke and the sun peeked over the Sta. Rita Hills. The next day, we received news that our 2023 Juliet was awarded 100 points by James Suckling, our second 100 point score for this cuvée. We are filled with appreciation and motivation as we look ahead to the future.
Unforgettable purity and definition, with fabulous concentration to the deeply textural fruit and lingering, precise and flinty minerals that filigree lemon pith, yellow apples and hazelnuts. Counterpoints of lifted spice and blossoms add to the nuanced layering of the long finish. Drink or hold, but patience will be richly rewarded.
Profound aromas of tamarind paste, hibiscus, turned earth, scrubby herbs and freshly dug mushrooms. The long, structured and giving palate already shines with impressive completeness, showing precise acidity and saline minerality wrapped in ripe cherries, blood oranges and forest fruit. Allspice, star anise and red tea are dusted throughout. Best after 2027.
Multilayered and impressively complex, this sings with fresh herbs and hibiscus that elevate and amplify pomegranate and rhubarb. Sappy, flexible tannins weave throughout with counterpoints of tilled earth, crunchy minerals and crushed flowers. A wine with tremendous aging potential but irresistible character already. Best after 2027.
Terrific tension between the lift of fresh herbs, crystalline cherries and field berries and a savory note at the core. Tilled earth and crunchy minerality are threaded throughout, lingering along the spine of the finish. Drink or hold.
Sappy, nervy and full of life, with scrubby herbs, dried rose petals and a tealike character informing mixed berries, cherries and spices through the long finish. Drink or hold.
Sashi Moorman, the managing partner of Domaine de la Côte and Sandhi Wines, as well as CEO for wine consultancy Provignage, explained during a drive through the Santa Rita Hills that it’s the only area in the world “where you get chardonnay and pinot noir grown on diatomaceous shales in a cool climate,” referring to the sedimentary soils based on the fossilized remains of silica-based skeletons of ancient diatoms, like plankton.
“You have millions of different ages of soils … extremely heterogeneous soils,” he added, leaving an incredible range of terroirs that can, if harnessed properly, be brought to bear on the wines that are grown in the region.
The Domaine de la Côte Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills Juliet 2023 is a pure, defined and concentrated example of the heights that the best wines can achieve here. So, too, is there Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Sous le Chêne 2024, whose allspice and star anise notes are woven with tamarind paste, hibiscus, blood orange, red cherries and saline minerality.
