2016 Kosta Browne Observations Mount Carmel Chardonnay Sta Rita Hills

(95 points) “The 2016 Chardonnay Mt. Carmel Observations Series was aged 15 months in 33% new French oak. This vineyard sits just below Rita's Crown. A single-vineyard Mt. Carmel Chardonnay was not made in 2017. "We were not happy enough with the fruit," Julien Howsepian, assistant winemaker, says. The wine opens with scents of candied lime peel, crushed apples, warm yellow peaches and quince peel with accents of orange blossom, honeycomb, hazelnut and a minerally undercurrent. It's light to medium-bodied, über silky and with loads of flavor layers slowly blossoming in the mouth. It has a framing of mouthwatering acidity and finishes awesomely long and nuanced. Yes! (EB)” (2/2020). Wine Advocate.