‘Decanter’ “wowed” by 2009 Bien Nacido Chardonnay

Elin McCoy’s Decanter article looks at the current change in taste of California Chardonnay, with a nice mention of the 2009 Bien Nacido, which “wowed” her. Here’s what she had to say about it:

“Gavin Chanin, the 27-year-old winemaking whizz at his eponymous estate, whose subtle, mineral-focused 2009 Bien Nacido Chardonnay wowed me, insists: ‘here’s been a huge change in the use of oak and in levels of alcohol,’ adding, ‘Every year my palate gets more sensitive to oak.’ He now uses a maximum 30% new. One key to making rich, complex wines at lower alcohol, he says, is old vines that regulate yields naturally.”