Samuel Louis Smith Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay Spear Vineyard 2024 champagne-template Easygoing but with real soul

Easygoing but with real soul and energy

This is Champagne with broad shoulders — toasty

The Bories family builds this one for tension instead of weight

Pierre Menard is one of Anjou's most thoughtful young naturalists

Rootdown has bought fruit from Jane

Samuel Louis Smith Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay Spear Vineyard 2024 champagne-template Easygoing but with real soulSpear Vineyard is one of the most talked about young sites in the Sta. Rita Hills planted in 2014, farmed organically by Ofer Shepher, climbing steep north facing slopes along Highway 246 with marine clay, sand, and chert in the soil. Sam Smith the former Morgan winemaker turned micro negociant treats the fruit with restraint, fermenting on native yeast in tank with partial malolactic, then aging in a mix of new and neutral oak plus stainless. The