Pie crust with brioche, lemon meringue, lime leaf, and blackboard chalk. Very aromatic. Full-bodied, with terrific structure and incredibly complex on the finish with seaweed and umami. Sea breeze, iodine and oyster finish. Superb wine. Drink or hold.

The 2021 Chardonnay UV-SL was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It opens with compelling struck flint and wet slate wafts before going full-throttle with grapefruit, green mango, and pineapple scents, leading to suggestions of lime and yuzu zest. The full-bodied palate is powerful, muscular, and dense with a creamy texture and a fantastically long honey and hazelnut-laced finish. It is named after one of Sonoma’s most reputable vineyard managers, Ulises Valdez Sr. (UV), who passed away recently. The vineyard is situated on Stoetz Lane (SL), only six miles from the Pacific Ocean, up on the hills around Graton and Occidental. Aubert and Valdez Sr. collaborated on the planting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here.