It doesn't often happen that Burgundy and California both have excellent harvests in the same year. 1995 was such a year, and it was a long time coming. As great as the 1990 harvest was, however, it pales in comparison to that of 1995. Yields were down because a cold spell in June had impacted flowering.
Low yields are a vital element in the Burgundian quality component.
In California, Chardonnay has never before had such a great vintage as 1995, although 1994 was close. In some areas, however, high quality came at a cost of substantially diminished yields. The Vintners Club jumped at this uncommon opportunity to compare French and California Chardonnays on a level playing field. For this occasion, it was determined to focus on the Chardonnays of the South Central Coast to compare against the wines of Burgundy's C te d'Or. Santa Barbara County and the coastal vineyards of southern San Luis Obispo County have consistently produced Chardonnays that are immensely popular with the Vintners Club panel as examples of generous wines with excellent structure and complexity.