I didn’t give this wine justice in my brief TN, but this was exceptional. “Complete balance” kept popping into my head as I drank this. Just delightful.
Posted from CellarTracker
Nice note Scott! I probably favor the Amador chenin from Sandlands but you really can’t go wrong with any of them.
Agree, they’re both excellent. Wish I had a case buried away to see how these evolve.
Same here!! I have 3 bottles of the 13 Amador I was able to scoop up on the secondary after plowing through my original bottles, and am trying to hold off drinking as long as possible to see what happens.
I generally find them soft and would prefer more structure. However, I’ve not had the most recent years. How would you say these fair relative to previous years?
Huh. Interesting. Are there other domestic chenins that you feel show substantially more structure?
Many here have probably consumed a larger sample size, but I feel the overall style has been pretty consistent…which to me is a very good thing.
Agree with Rich and felt this had structure to go the distance.
I’m thinking about this relative to Loire Chenin.
Sandlands chenins are pretty soft compared to Loire. That’s why I stopped buying them, preferring their reds over the whites.
Same here. I buy my complete allocation of Sandlands reds, but have stopped with the chenins a year or two back. In fact, I’ve yet to have an American chenin blanc that I’d buy again.
The Sandlands chenins are no doubt different animals compared the Loire, but I guess thats true when you compare wine across any region (burgundy vs. CA pinot, etc). Regardless, I love the wines and always find myself wishing I had more after finishing a bottle.
Side note, I’m surprised you both describe the chenins as ‘soft’. Not a descriptor that’s ever popped into my head while drinking em.
Yeah, I too max the reds and have been passing on the Chenins but only because they’ve never really appealed much to my palate (nothing related to any perceived lack of structure).
I still have some older vintages of Sandlands Chenin, will open a bottle or two this summer and report back.
It’s like I don’t even know you anymore 
Yeah, that’s pretty much how it always goes 
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I love them as well…buy all offered(which is still not enough)…find them more of a subtlety, very bright citrus, and plenty of crushed geology. I actually like the “softness”…maybe it’s the waxy lanolin I get as well? It’s not Loire…but for its own terroir…I think they are a pleasurable alternative to the standard whites produced here in Ca.
I’ve got something like 25 cases of Huet, and then some other Loire chenins as well, so that might put my pickiness and attachment to more structure into context.
I’d happily come drink at your house any day Jim! Dont worry…I won’t bring a Sandlands
Hate hate hate that he uses oak on the Chenin. Needs another year or two to burn off the oak. I had one in March/April.
Oh I’ll totally drink it, I’m always willing to have my impressions reset. 
PS - Good point about the oak Brent.
Had a 2016 Lodi this weekend with some fish. I think the wine had great structure including complexity. While the wine might not have as much acidity and a little heavier body than a Loire, it is about as good as it gets for a Lodi white- and CA Chenin at that. The waitstaff was giddy when I gave them some to try as they were big fans of Sandlands.