Grape: 100% Chardonnay
Style: Medium-bodied with a saline snap. Notes of Meyer lemon, crisp apple, pomelo, ginger, and sea spray. Textured yet precise, showing the grip of Sta. Rita Hills with a long, mineral finish.
Details: Practicing organic. Almost entirely sourced from Domaine de la Côte. Native yeast. Aged 10 months in large 500L puncheons and 6 months in tank. 4,198 cases produced. 12.9% abv.
Story: Sandhi was founded in 2010 by Rajat Parr and winemaker Sashi Moorman, two figures who reshaped the conversation around California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Their project focuses on balance, restraint, and vineyard transparency, moving away from heavy oak and high alcohol toward wines that echo the best of Burgundy through a California lens. Sta. Rita Hills, with its Pacific cooled vineyards and ancient soils, proved the perfect laboratory.
The 2022 Chardonnay is a vivid snapshot of this philosophy. Nearly all of the fruit comes from Domaine de la Côte, Sashi’s iconic estate that he and Raj farm organically. Sandhi’s role is to interpret this terroir in a slightly more generous and accessible way than the domaine wines, without compromising energy or precision. It’s the clearest, most affordable entry point into one of the defining visions of modern California Chardonnay.
