2023 Pala - Vermentino di Sardegna DOC Stellato (750ml)

A 94 Point California Chardonnay under $30!

With Diatom, Winemaker Greg Brewer seeks to capture Chardonnay in its most pure and unadulterated state. Diatom is named for diatomaceous earth, which is a plankton fossil found in the oceanic landscape of Santa Barbara County.

"Diatom is motivated by the pursuit of subtraction and refinement. It is the polishing of a grain of rice until one has reached its ultimate inner core. Our Sta. Rita Hills marine landscape is stark and so are the wines of its provenance. We strive for a recognition of place with as little disturbance, distraction or interference as possible. The resulting wines have a sense of transparency and a purity of intent and purpose." Greg Brewer Winemaker

We recently received a small allocation of the coveted "Foudre" bottling by esteemed Portuguese producer Susana Esteban. Up until today, the only white wine that Revista de Vinhos, Portugal's leading wine publication, had ever given a perfect score to was the 2018 vintage of Susana Esteban's Foudre, her remarkable old vine white field blend aged in a single Alsatian cask from 1961. 

​For the second time ever, Revista de Vinhos ​gave a white wine a perfect score, and again it was for Susana's Foudre, this time for the just released 2022 vintage.  (Sadly, because she only has one foudre in which the wine ages for 18 months, she only makes the wine in even numbered years!).  

The wine is sold out in Portugal.

Translated Excerpts from the review: "100 Points.  A perfect white...  It is textured, deep, vigorous, wide, long, racy...  It's impressive how many layers this wine has and how many sensations it awakens.  It's the Beatles, Tom Jobim, Cole Porter and Debussy.  All at the same time..."