Winemaker Notes
Burgundian-style wine without the tropical fruit tones of some California Chardonnays. Hyde Vineyard wines often seem charming and feminine, with high natural acidity playing a prominent role.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This producer's blocks were planted in 1991 and 1997 to field selections of both Wente and Robert Young clones. Juicy, tight and tension-filled, it is both complex and high-toned in approach, with looming acidity that freshens in tart lemon-peel, grapefruit and tangerine flavors—a classic and elegant wine.
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Wine Spectator
Precise and powerfully structured, with intense Asian pear, apple and ripe citrus flavors that feature rich, savory notes. Displays concentrated minerality on the spicy and textured finish. Should blossom in the cellar. Best from 2021 through 2025.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From a vineyard in Carneros, the 2016 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard excels on its purity and finesse. Notes of white flowers, lemon zest, and tart pineapple all flow to a medium to full-bodied Chardonnay that’s classic Ramey with its bright, crisp acidity, good concentration, and balanced style. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard comes from blocks of the Hyde vineyard planted in 1991 and 1997. Grapes are fermented in barrel with bâtonnage, then aged in 22% new French oak for 20 months. It has a wonderfully mineral-driven nose of pulverized stone with notions of Greek yogurt, lime peel and spring blossoms plus a soft peachy undertone and toasty suggestion. The palate is medium to full-bodied with flavor layers flooding the mouth: ripe citrus, cream and roasted almonds, finishing long, lively and minerally with great juicy acidity. 1,256 cases produced, to be released in June 2019.
Rating: 93+
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.