Winemaker Notes
Hudson Chardonnay is sourced from unique sites on our Napa ranch, planted to heritage selections prized for their innate minerality, small berries and brilliant acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
All shot Wente clone selection, this 2017 Chardonnay was aged for 19 months in barrel. It leaps from the glass with totally flamboyant notes of apricot tart, pineapple upside down cake and guava plus suggestions of honeycomb, allspice and candied ginger. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is electrically charged with tropical fruit and peachy layers with a laser focused line of crisp acidity, finishing very long and very spicy. 1250 cases made.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Hudson Carneros Chardonnay was one of my favorite wines I tasted in this calendar year. TASTING NOTES: This is a complete wine. Enjoy its aromas and flavors of dried fruit, peach fuzz, and brisk stone fruit with a grilled chicken salad topped intermixed with peaches and apples. (Tasted: April 29, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.