Scar of the Sea, Bassi Vineyard Chardonnay, San Luis Obispo County 2021 - 75cl

Mikey and Gina Giugni started Scar of the Sea in 2012 with a cider-maker's instinct for restraint, and it shows in this Chardonnay. Bassi Vineyard sits close to the Pacific on the San Luis Obispo coast, fog rolling in most mornings, and the cool sea air keeps the fruit lean where inland California turns broad and buttery. This is West Coast sunshine with a French accent.

Native yeast does the work here. The juice ferments in 228-litre and 500-litre barrels, rests seventeen months on its lees, then goes to bottle unfined and unfiltered with barely any sulphur. What you get is a Chardonnay caught between two worlds — a nose of subtle smoke, vanilla and a puff of popcorn over ripe white peach, then a palate that turns crunchy and bright, all lemon zest, green apple and underripe melon carried on a chalky spine of acidity. Medium-bodied, high-toned, nothing overworked.

Open it when you want a Chardonnay that argues its case quietly — a bottle for a considered dinner rather than a crowd, or for anyone who thinks they have gone off the grape.

How to Serve

Serve at 10 to 12°C, a touch warmer than instinct suggests, so the lees texture and orchard fruit come through. Use a Burgundy bowl. No need to decant, but this drinks better as it warms in the glass, so pour and wait.

Where to Drink It

The River Cafe, whose Italian precision suits its restraint. Noble Rot, for a low-intervention crowd who will appreciate the native ferment. Dandy, where the seasonal small plates flatter a coastal white like this.

Food Pairings

Roast chicken with plenty of lemon and thyme is the obvious, unimprovable move. For something lighter, a plate of grilled mackerel plays off the smoke on the nose beautifully.