2022 Los Alamos Vineyard Chardonnay, Chanin

Los Alamos is invariably the most open-knit and accessible of Gavin’s Chardonnays, but he notes that it’s a more concentrated, complex wine today than it was, say, a decade ago, as the age of the vines (planted in 1969) has begun to tell. He also points out that it’s a wine that ages beautifully. The 2022 is particularly impressive, with a sizzling citrus character, stony minerality and real persistence on the finish. A less celebrated vineyard than S&B or Bien Nacido, and therefore the least expensive single-vineyard Chardonnay in the range, this punches well above its weight for the price.