Meiomi Chardonnay

Meiomi Chardonnay 2013: A blend from coastal vineyards (“meiomi” comes from a native American word for coast) in Santa Barbara (49%), Sonoma (30%), and Monterey (21%), this Chardonnay will please lovers of bigger styles of the varietal even though the fruit comes from cooler climate vineyards.

Think of this bottle as a bit of a throwback to when butter was better (the wine does go through 100% malolactic fermentation) and when the fruits lean to the tropical and stone more than citrus.

Meiomi is part of the large Copper Cane Wines & Provisions group of wineries – just the Meiomi/Belle Glos portion of the empire makes over a quarter million cases a year – and run by Joseph J. Wagner, son of Caymus founder Chuck Wagner. The younger Wagner makes the Meiomi wines (there’s a popular pinot, too), and he is committed to blending across California to get what he sees as the best aspects of different grapes.

See meiomiwines.com.