Lancel Creek Vineyard, Chardonnay, 2021

Invariably the silkiest and most opulent of the Ferren wines, Lancel Creek opens up with a cool sweet cream note, lovely ripeness to the generous silky fruit but also an even keel of freshness. For all the languid fruit there’s a coiled spring at heart here, and it finishes so very clear and fresh. Lovely notes of orange, mandarin and lime with air. You sense there are hidden depths waiting to emerge. Lancel Creek Vineyard is perched above the tiny hamlet of Occidental on the remote Sonoma Coast. This secluded, two-acre site was prepared, planted, and was tended by Ulises Valdez until his death. The pale, off-white Goldridge soil provides just enough nutrients and moisture for these densely planted vines to ripen a small amount of intensely aromatic and flavorful Chardonnay. The vineyard faces the Pacific Ocean, a mere five miles to the west. The combined influence of the cold Pacific and the warming afternoon sun produces a wine of incredible richness and sublime balance.