Sandhi
One of California's new stars, from the Santa Rita Hills

Raj Parr of Sandhi

Website www.sandhiwines.com

One of the wineries at the forefront of the New California Wine is Sandhi, which is a collaboration between super-somm Rajat Parr, prestigious (and prodigious) vineyard collector Charles Banks, and winemaker Sashi Moorman. The focus is on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from select terroirs in Santa Barbara County.

Parr sources grapes from top vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills. Sandhi is sanskrit for ‘alliance/collaboration’, reflecting how much is owed to the growers for the quality of the wine.

His approach is to add as little as possible – for example, he doesn’t like sulfur dioxide during elevage, just at bottling – but he doesn’t call his wines ‘natural’, even though they are. For his Pinot Noirs he uses a high proportion of stems.

Sashi Moorman, winemaker, Sandhi

Sandhi Chardonnays show thrilling acidity and minerality of the sort rarely encountered in Californian Chardonnay. The Pinot Noirs share a lovely smooth, sweetly fruited, textured, mineral personality. They’re seductive and ripe without being over-the-top, the stem component adding lovely framing to the sweet fruit.

THE WINES

Sandhi Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2012 California
Average vine age 25 years, no new oak, variety of soils. Very fine and lively with lovely purity, some minerals and lemon and pear fruit. Lovely purity here and a fine mineral dimension adding complexity. Fresh yet possessing richness, with great balance. 94/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2011 California
Fine, intense, toasty nutty nose. Taut, citrussy and fine with lovely precision on the palate. Good acidity and real finesse. 93/100 (02/13)

Sandhi Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2010 California
Lovely balance of matchstick mineral notes, spice and citrus/pear fruit. Bright with lovely focus. 92/100 (07/14)

Sandhi Chardonnay Santa Rita Hills 2012 California
This spends 11 months in puncheons then 6 months in tank with fine lees. Really precise, pure and fresh with lovely precision and bright lemony fruit. Pure, complex and taut, this is a really expressive Chardonnay. 95/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Sandford & Benedict Chardonnay 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
Very fine with lovely expressive lemony fruit. Fine palate of pear and ripe apple, with a herby, mineral quality. Taut, fine and youthful. 94/100 (12/14)

Sandhi Sandford & Benedict Chardonnay 2011 Santa Rita Hills, California
From the famous vineyard planted in 1971. This is very fine and pure with lovely detailed aromatics of matchstick, minerals and spice. Brilliantly complex palate with pear, apple, spice and minerals, showing amazing freshness and precision, without sacrificing any flavour or intensity. This is a mind-blowing wine. 97/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Sandford & Benedict Chardonnay 2010 Santa Rita Hills, California
Textured and rounded with lovely acidity. Fine and expressive with great acidity and complex nutty notes. Just a hint of dairy, with grapefruit/lemon precision. Wonderfully complex. 95/100 (02/13)

Sandhi Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard 2010 Santa Maria Valley, California
From 1973 plantings in this famous vineyard, only made in 2010. Gravelly, alluvial soils. Complex, toasty, nutty nose with some fresh lemony notes. Lively with real precision and keen acidity, as well as some richer notes, nicely framed with a touch of matchstick. 94/100 (03/14)

Sandhi ‘Rita’s Crown’ Chardonnay 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
South facing vineyard with decomposed granite soils. Very pure and bright with good acidity, and pure lemony fruit. Very fresh with a distinct mineral dimension and real finesse. 95/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Rita’s Crown Chardonnay 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
High elevation site with pure silica soils. Lovely fresh citrus and pear fruit with an elegant lemony character, as well as spice and toast. Real finesse. 94/100 (12/14)

Sandhi Rita’s Crown Chardonnay 2011 Santa Rita Hills, California
A high acid vintage. Lively pear and citrus with a bit of spice. Lovely focus with high acidity. Nice lemony fruit with a crispness but also some pear and apple depth. This took 11 months to finish malolactic fermentation. 93/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Bentrock Chardonnay 2010 Santa Rita Hills, California
Fine toast, grapefruit and lemon notes. Nicely textured and broad with a hint of pineapple. There’s some richness here, and this wine is lively with good acidity. Broad and mouthfiling with lovely texture. 94/100 (02/13)

Sandhi Bentrock Chardonnay 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
North facing vineyard with silex soils. Raj Parr says that this is his best Chardonnay vineyard. Very elegant with ripe pear, pineapple and white peach. Long, harmonious palate with keen acidity. Linear and pure with great intensity. 94/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Bentrock Chardonnay 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
Silex soils with some lime. Very stylish, fresh and mineral with focused lemon and spice notes. Nice depth here: fantastic mineral quality, showing great finesse and detail. 95/100 (12/14)

Sandhi Pinot Noir 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
Fine, ripe, slightly nervous nose of sweet cherries and some sappy notes. The palate is fresh, mineral, taut and expressive with lovely balance and some sweet spiciness. Very fine. 94/100 (03/14)

Sandhi ‘Amrita Wenzlau’ Pinot Noir 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
Half made using carbonic maceration, and no added sulfur diozide. All whole cluster. So pure, fresh and lively with red cherry fruit and a supple personality. Some sweetness and a nice grainy texture. Fine, mineral and pure, and quite joyful. 93/100 (07/14)

Sandhi ‘Amrita Wenzlau’ Pinot Noir 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
Supple and fresh with lovely purity to the bright cherry fruit. Vital and fresh, with lots of detail. 93/100 (03/14)

Sandhi Rinconada Pinot Noir 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
North facing vineyard with silex/clay soils, 100% whole cluster in concrete. Maximum two punchdowns, then pressed to puncheons, 10% new. No sulfur dioxide additions until first racking. Lovely forward sweet cherry fruit, with a hint of raspberry. So fresh and pure with good structure and a subtle green hint that adds interest. A really great, structured Pinot. 95/100 (07/14)

Sandhi Pinot Noir Sandford and Benedict 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
Lovely grainy, textured wine with real detail. Flavours of spice, cherries and herbs with nice grip. Lovely supple, spicy fruit here, and good structure. 94/100 (07/14)

Sandhi Pinot Noir Sandford and Benedict 2010 Santa Rita Hills, California
Lovely open sweet meaty nose of pure black cherries and plums. Smooth, supple and pure with subtle green sappy notes. Very smooth and fine with seductive pure fruit. 93/100 (02/13)

Sandhi Rinconada Pinot Noir 2012 Santa Rita Hills, California
North facing silex vineyard, 100% whole cluster. Ripe but fresh with pure cherry and plum fruit. Lovely purity to this wine which is fine and expressive. Very bright with nice mineral structure and great precision. 94/100 (03/14)

UK agents are Roberson

Sandhi One of California's new stars, from the Santa Rita Hills

Sandhi
One of California's new stars, from the Santa Rita Hills