2019 Domaine Jean Francois The Twelve Rows Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Chardonnay Sta Rita Hills

(97 Points) The 2020 The Twelve Rows Chardonnay opens with exotic aromas of lychee, poached pears, white peaches, acacia and beeswax with a touch of flinty character. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and seamless, reluctantly revealing its mineral-driven flavors. Chalky and minerally yet certainly not lacking in perfumed fruit, its long, slowly evolving finish hints that this wine has much more to offer as it unwinds in bottle. Domaine Jean François is a new collaboration between Sanford and François Labet, owner of Château de la Tour, the largest landowner in the Clos Vougeot and the only winery located within the Clos itself. The de la Tour wines are imported into the US by the Terlato Wine Group, which purchased a majority stake in Sanford in 2005. John Terlato, Sanford winemaker Trey Fletcher and Labet decided to work together on a new cuvée made from the old vines planted at Sanford. "We followed François's winemaking program, issuing thoughts and suggestions from pruning through to bottling," Terlato notes. If this first bottling of Domaine Jean François is any indication, this will be an exciting project to follow in the future