Antica Terra Nuntius Chardonnay 2023
Antica Terra Nuntius Chardonnay 2023
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Antica Terra Nuntius Chardonnay 2023

Antica Terra
$440.00

Grape: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2023
Type: White

This white is one of the smallest things Antica Terra makes, 105 cases of Willamette Valley chardonnay in 2023. It is chosen the way everything here is chosen, by tasting hundreds of barrels blind and blending until the shape is right, which means Nuntius exists only because it kept standing apart. Maggie Harrison works the cellar without pumps or racking, letting the wine settle on its own lees instead. This is chardonnay built for line rather than breadth.

It displays a pale, almost water-white color, opening with aromas of green apple, lime zest, and crushed shell. On the palate, the light-bodied frame is firm and narrow, balancing citrus against a hard mineral spine. There is a riesling-like quality to the way it holds its shape, more about purity and energy than texture. Acidity is high and unrelenting, cutting straight through the center. It finishes tight and clean, closer to spring water than to fruit.

Maggie Harrison is a first-generation winemaker, having grown up in the Midwest. With an educational background in International Relations and Conflict Resolution, she fell in love with wine while working in restaurants and set out to follow that passion and create wine. She went on to land the position of assistant winemaker to Manfred Krankl at Sine Qua Non, where she remained for eight years. She is currently the co-owner and winemaker for Antica Terra, producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since 2005, and is also responsible for the Syrah at Lillian Winery in Santa Barbara. Initially, it had been her goal to only produce a singular wine, but during blind tastings for blending, she felt the various components would not necessarily complement one another and would overpower or detract from the other. Rather than force them to homogenize, each of the wines bottled today chases the individual and opposing personalities each possesses. Her wines are impeccably expressive and worth seeking out if you can get your hands on them.

I have always found with these wines that I am never compelled to overly coax the wine in tasting. They are distinctive, singular wines that, when given the time to allow the wine to come to you, make the transcendence to art.

- Audrey Frick (9/17/2023) © 2024 Jeb Dunnuck