Vivier Gap's Crown Chardonnay 2021 (750ml) *

Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast tends toward cooler-climate tension, and this bottling from Vivier, drawn from the Gap's Crown vineyard, leans into that leaner, more mineral register. The 2021 is a single-vineyard expression of the grape, built for precision rather than weight, a California Chardonnay that reads more taut than tropical.

Give it time in the glass, because the aromatics arrive slowly: lemon, citrus blossom, and a distinctly saline, oyster-shell note. The palate is light and linear, tangy with acidity, its citrus fruit carried on a creamy, mineral core. The finish lingers and coats the mouth. This is young and still tightly wound, and it will reward a little patience.