Benoni Chardonnay Petit Grains 2018

Benoni is one of those great, fly-under-the-radar producers who I was introduced to out West and managed to secure a small allocation each vintage. The wine is killer– the perfect combination of green apple, hazelnuts and minerality that tastes like it should cost me a lot more than it does. If there’s one problem with Benoni though, it’s that their total production each year is as tiny as the “petit grains” — the small, low-yielding clusters of grapes that pack a juicy burst of flavor and freshness.

Most of their few hundred cases each year wind up in some of California’s best wine restaurants from Santa Barbara up to Mendocino. A few make it across the country and into Jersey. But with restaurants no longer taking their allocations, the opportunity presented itself for me to get more of this and at a price I know I probably won’t get ever again. As Benoni prepares for the next vintage, they reached out asking if I would take any more wine. I jumped at the opportunity.

Aided by an extremely temperate climate, the growing season in San Luis Obispo is as long and consistent as any AVA in the states. It provides the perfect conditions for full-bodied, complex Chardonnay at a level few can achieve. The 2018 Benoni Petit Grains Chardonnay is bright, juicy and fresh with a high-toned Côte de Beaune-like finish. Delicious on its own, with appetizers or with pretty much anything you put on the dinner table. Regularly $25/btl, today’s opportunity allows us to go under $20 a bottle on case purchases. At that price, there’s probably not another American Chardonnay that holds a candle to this one. Not to be missed!