"It is quite conceivable that within a few years the Sandhi Chardonnays could become the absolute reference point, benchmark wines for Santa Barbara, and California, for that matter."
ANTONIO GALLONI
Santa Barbara is a very exciting area of California for those that are looking for wines with poise, finesse and great acidity to match the natural ripeness of fruit.
Founded in 2010, Sandhi (the Sanskrit word for collaboration) produces small volumes of low-tech, hands-off Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Fruit from arguably California's finest vineyards undergoes wild fermentation, avoids additions or manipulations, and sees just a very conservative amount of new oak during elevage. All of this conspires to give wines of incredible minerality and purity that are fully deserving of the plaudits they are receiving.
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Made by Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman out of the Domaine de la Côte winery in the Santa Rita Hills, the Sandhi label allows an exploration of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines that highlight the uniqueness of a handful of other sites throughout the appellation.
While Domaine de la Côte has become, in a short space of time, one of the absolute benchmarks for Pinot right across the new world, the single vineyard Chardonnays under the Sandhi label are now on a similar path.
The latest blisteringly good single vineyard wines have just arrived in Australia, but not to be missed are the new 2021 Sta. Rita Hills appellation Chardonnay and Pinot Noir pair. The most accessible of the wines from Raj and Sashi's stable, both are expressive yet finessed and absolutely delicious, and present a clear picture of the distinct Domaine de la Côte terroir.
Indeed, these are perhaps the most interesting wines in the Sandhi range as they are primarily declassified Domaine de la Côte. From Raj and Sashi: "Sandhi is dedicated to making wines of finesse, minerality, acidity, structure and balance. Wine achieves power and beauty through the seamless integration of these qualities, and this is the inspiration for us.
We feel wines exhibiting extreme ripeness, alcohol, oak and other discordant exaggerations cannot truly express a specific vineyards’ terroir. From a cellar approach, we go to great lengths to protect the vibrancy, freshness and energy that makes wines from the Santa Rita Hills so unique. All wines are wild-yeast fermented in neutral oak and concrete vessels, and there are zero additions of water, sugar, acid and enzymes.”
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Featured Wines
Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
2021
"The 2021 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills has a medium ruby color and pretty scents of cinnamon stick, aniseed, iron, underbrush and charcuterie with a core of red cherries and cranberries. Medium-bodied yet very concentrated, it has a powdery frame, sparks of refreshing acidity and a very long, graphite-driven finish. Precise and detailed, it deserves to spend another 2-3 years in bottle."
96 points, Wine Advocate
Patterson Vineyard Chardonnay
2020
"The 2020 Chardonnay Patterson Vineyard opens with tempered matchstick-like reduction that gives way to nuanced aromas of baked apples, quince, lemon and lime blossom and toast. The medium-bodied palate strikes a fine balance between satiny, concentrated fruit and focused acidity, and the finish is long, layered and detailed."
97 points, Wine Advocate
Romance Chardonnay
2020
"The 2020 Chardonnay Romance is a new wine from Sandhi, sourced from vines grown at the Domaine de la Cote estate vineyards. The nose is bright and arresting, flaunting lemon peel, chalk and pastry crust. Its unabashedly concentrated citrus fruits are tempered by nervy acidity, and it has a very long, texturally compelling finish. There's something a bit magical about the expression this vintage. 198 cases were made.."
98 points, Wine Advocate