2015 The Hilt Old Guard Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County

The 2015 Chardonnay Old Guard offers up notes of lemon meringue, honeysuckle and peach blossoms with suggestions of baking bread, marzipan and hay. Medium-bodied with a lovely crisp backbone, the palate yields plenty of citrus and savory layers with a long, chalky finish.

93+ points Lisa Perrotti-Brown robertparker.com Sept. 2017 Drink 2017-2024

The 2015 Chardonnay Old Guard is marked by a very distinctive, Riesling-like note of minerality. There is terrific energy to balance the more overt qualities of the year. Readers should expect an exotic, phenolic Chardonnay endowed with considerable intensity. Fruit sources are Solomon Hills, Bien Nacido, Sanford & Benedict and Bentrock.

93 points Antonio Galloni vinous.com Sept 2017 Drink 2017-2025

More open, enticing and expressive at first approach. Laser-like in its precision. A wine of energy and focus with tropical notes and mouthwatering acidity. Crisp pear, green apple, chamomile and jicama. Saline and fresh, displaying its pure essence without malolactic fermentation and devoid of new oak. Speaks of the sites on our property that attain full ripeness, but never lose their electricity. Tense, electric and satisfying. Full of energy. Almost vibrating.

Matt Dees Winemaker