Antica Terra Aurata 2020
Antica TerraGrape: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2020
Type: White
Rating: 95/100
Reviewed by: Jeb Dunnuck
The second of the only two wines produced in this vintage, the 2020 Chardonnay Aurata pours a medium straw hue with a touch darker pigment and generally has a more solar, sun-kissed feel. It opens to a savory perfume of jasmine, brothy saline, and golden orchard fruit of nectarine. A deeper tone comes through on the palate of this full-bodied white, which offers a warming hug of fruit balanced with the creamy richness of almond, reminiscent of the orgeat in a Mai Tai cocktail. A harmonious wine with an all-encompassing feel, mineral undercurrents, and a long-lasting finish, it’s complete and feels like it will last for well over a decade. This is one of the great champions of the vintage and one of the best wines I have tasted from the Antica Terra team to date. Drink 2024-2040.
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