2020 · Le Souvenir Chardonnay

Paul Lato is the sole owner and winemaker behind this California label, producing small-batch wines in Santa Maria since 2002 from a rented facility at Central Coast Wine Services. Rather than owning estate vineyards, he sources fruit from selected blocks in leading Central Coast sites including Bien Nacido, Gold Coast, Solomon Hills, Sierra Madre, Pisoni, Hyde, and vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills and Happy Canyon. His range centers on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Grenache, and Sauvignon Blanc. The winemaking philosophy emphasizes authenticity, harmony, and elegance, with restricted yields, harvesting at physiological ripeness, and minimal-intervention cellar work focused on purity, balance, and texture. Some releases have carried SIP certification, and he has also worked with biodynamic fruit from Grimm’s Bluff.