Wine of the Week: 2011 Liquid Farm Chardonnay ‘White Hill’

For anyone who loves a leaner, more elegant style of Chardonnay, this is the one. Liquid Farm proprietors Nikki and Jeff Nelson are going for Chardonnay with less oak influence and lower alcohol. Bingo. That’s a recipe for a food-friendly wine, and with the help of winemakers Brandon Sparks-Gillis and John Dragonette of Dragonette Cellars, they’re making this terrific Chardonnay from Santa Rita Hills grapes. I love its minerality, the sharp, fresh scent of citrus and, well, grape that comes through loud and clear.

It’s a beautiful wine with chicken pot pie, mushroom galettes, chilled shellfish and crustaceans. Just right for summer drinking.

Region: Central Coast

Price: About $36

Style: Intense, yet subtle

What it goes with: Savory tarts, chilled shellfish, spiny lobster, Dungeness crab

Where to find it: BestWinesOnline.com, (888) 817-8880, https://www.bestwinesonline.com; John and Pete’s Fine Wines & Spirits in West Hollywood, (310) 657-3080, https://www.johnandpetes.com; K&L; Wine Merchants in Hollywood, (323) 464-9463, https://www.klwines.com; the Redd Collection in Culver City, (310) 202-7333, https://www.reddcollection.com; Wally’s Wine & Spirits in West Los Angeles, (310) 475-0606, https://www.wallywine.com; the Wine House in West Los Angeles, (310) 479-3731, https://www.winehouse.com; and the Woodland Hills Wine Co. in Woodland Hills, (818) 222-1111, https://www.whwc.com.

irene.virbila@latimes.com