I Brand and Family Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard 2023 Wine Bar | Featured White a Merlot-forward profile that gives

a Merlot-forward profile that gives plush black fruit

vinified as a white and finished extra brut

They are mainly aged in barrels for 6 to 18 months and come in two categories:

Named after Grandfather Peter Lauer

where the Kimmeridgian limestone matches Chablis

I Brand and Family Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard 2023 Wine Bar | Featured White a Merlot-forward profile that givesEscolle sits at the cool northern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands, on a bench that a French immigrant named Honore Escolle bought as a summer property back in 1878. Ian Brand's Chardonnay from it is a study in restraint: whole cluster pressed, barrel fermented with a minority of new French oak, ten months on the lees, then finished in stainless steel to sharpen the edges back up. That last step is the trick. It gives the wine the texture of a barrel