Tyler Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay Mae Vineyard 2023

More about Tyler

Justin Willet's wines exude the grace and understatement that are the hallmark of exceptional Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A native of Santa Barbara, in 2005 Justin founded Tyler while working as the assistant winemaker at Arcadian Winery. It was there that he started developing strong and lasting relationships with the caretaker of some of the area's best sites. He has continued to impress them with his knowledge allowing him access to some of the best plots and thus some of the best fruit on the planet.

Justin is armed with a powerful intellect, intuition and unbounded creativity. His knowledge of the vineyards he works with and the geology of the land he hails from are second to none. His knowledge is so granular that he can speak to the particular vagaries of individual vines. His intuition has led him to choose some of the best spots in the world class vineyard he works with. He and his crew work these sights themselves, allowing the level of control necessary to produce wines of this caliber.

In the cellar there is no recipe. Each year brings new challenges and opportunities which he celebrates by producing wines that are some of the clearest snapshots of the vintage. He doesn't just rely on his no-how as he consults with some old hands from the area and over the last few years with his close friends Etienne Montille of Domaine de Montille and Rudolph Peters of Champagne Pierre Peters.

Already a legend amongst his winemaking colleagues, Justin will go down as one of the greats of California wine. His prodigious talents and ability to surround himself with equally talented artisans have helped make these extraordinary wines an absolute must have for serious collectors. They are yet another example that the wines of the Golden State are in the midst of a golden age.