Roar 2024 Rosella's Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands

95 Points Jeb Dunnuck | 94 Points Wine Enthusiast

A Standout Single-Vineyard Chardonnay from ROAR.

One of the most sought-after Chardonnays from California’s Santa Lucia Highlands, the ROAR 2024 Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay comes from the Franscioni family’s original estate vineyard—a cool, windswept site just inland from Monterey Bay.

Rosella’s Vineyard was planted in 1996 and is typically one of ROAR’s last vineyards to be harvested. The long, cool growing season gives this Chardonnay an impressive combination of richness and intensity balanced by bright acidity, minerality and freshness.

95 Points — Jeb Dunnuck: “From the cooler, later-harvested site, the impressive Roar 2024 Chardonnay Rosella's Vineyard sees extended hangtime and more ocean influence, its growing cycle beginning earlier in the season and taking longer to get to full maturity. Salty citrus and flinty matchstick notes highlight an elegant, full-bodied, barrel-fermented mouthfeel of textured richness and intensity that still manages to retain plenty of juicy acidity and floral flourish. Drink now through 2036.”

Rosella’s Vineyard

ROAR was founded by longtime farmers and grape growers Gary and Rosella Franscioni, who planted Rosella’s Vineyard on their home ranch in the Santa Lucia Highlands in 1996. The vineyard’s proximity to Monterey Bay brings cool temperatures, fog and persistent afternoon winds, allowing the Chardonnay to ripen slowly while retaining its natural acidity.

Today, Gary and his sons Adam and Nick continue to run the family winery, with winemaker Scott Shapley crafting the wines.

The 2024 Rosella’s Vineyard Chardonnay delivers the combination that has made ROAR’s single-vineyard Chardonnays so compelling: rich texture, salty citrus, floral notes, flinty minerality and vibrant acidity.

Limited production and difficult to find outside the winery’s allocation list.