Winemaker Notes
The 2019 vintage is elegant, powerful and full of classic Hyde Vineyard traits of delicate white flowers, summer melon, tangerine zest and spicy poached pears in. On the palate the wine offers orange and lemon flavors along with hints of toasted almond and vanilla. The wine has wonderfully fresh acidity that drives a white chalk/mineral note on the very long detailed finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Napa side of the Carneros region, the 2019 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard lends the most depth of any of the Chardonnay bottlings presented by the estate, with brûléed pineapple, dusty earth, and orange flower. The palate is similarly more concentrated and richly textured, with fresh peach, preserved lemon, and toasted almond. Drink now or over the next 8 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
This white has a juicy and expansive midpalate of rich apple, peach and oak. Plush and generous in style, it delivers balance and structure, highlighting the beauty and purity of the famous site.
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Wine & Spirits
There’s bright, brisk chardonnay fruit at the center of this wine, needing bottle age to absorb some of the oak influence and roasted hazelnut flavors surrounding it. If you open it now, pour it with a salade Niçoise, crusty French bread and butter.
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.