Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a stunner from blocks planted in 1997 and 1999. Beautiful aromas of toasted hazelnut and stone lead to a palate that shows undeniable minerality paired with lasting acidity. It shows freshness and energy throughout. Drink 2026–2032.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is more closed and reductive, with plenty of Burgundian matchstick notes as well as orchard fruits, toasted bread, spice, and chalky mineral nuances. This beauty is fresh, vibrant, medium to full-bodied, and as pure and precise as they come. It's another brilliant Chardonnay from this estate that will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and keep for over a decade. Rating: 96+
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is reminiscent of a fine Chablis, opening with notes of flint that segue to citrus and soft floral perfume. The palate is tensile and shimmery with racy acidity and mineral undertones. The youthfully shy fruits hint at more gravitas to come with time in bottle.
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Wine Spectator
Powerful, sleek and well-structured, with rich minerality and savoriness to fresh-cut apple and pear flavors, backed by crackling acidity. Dried mint and sea salt accents linger on the spicy finish, with toasty notes. Best from 2022 through 2027.
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.