Peake Ranch Vineyard Ma Jolie Chardonnay
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 3–10 years from vintage release.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Pan-seared scallops, roasted chicken, creamy mushroom risotto
✨ wine.spec_sheet
Sourced from the prestigious Peake Ranch Vineyard in the cool-climate Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara County, Paul Lato's 'Ma Jolie' Chardonnay is a masterclass in tension and texture. The name 'Ma Jolie'—meaning 'My Pretty One'—is a nod to Pablo Picasso's famous painting and reflects Lato's deeply artistic approach to winemaking. The vineyard's unique combination of clay loam soils, diatomaceous earth, and intense maritime influence from the nearby Pacific Ocean allows the Chardonnay grapes to ripen slowly, retaining brilliant natural acidity. Crafted with minimal intervention, fermented with native yeasts, and aged in select French oak barrels, this wine beautifully balances rich, stone-fruit concentration with a vibrant, saline minerality that speaks directly to its coastal origin.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Founded in 2002 by Polish-born sommelier Paul Lato, this artisanal winery is based in Santa Maria, California, within the heart of Santa Barbara County. Driven by a philosophy of minimal intervention and a quest for elegance and balance, Lato meticulously selects fruit from some of the Central Coast's most prestigious vineyards, including Bien Nacido, Solomon Hills, and Larner. The estate is highly acclaimed for its small-production, single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays, and Syrahs, which beautifully capture the unique maritime-influenced terroir of the region. With an unwavering focus on purity of fruit and texture, expressions like the Solomon Hills Pinot Noir Suerte and Larner Syrah Cinematique have earned the winery a reputation as one of California's premier boutique producers.