Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Chardonnay captivates vibrant aromas of bright citrus, lime, honey, and a delicate minerality reminiscent of chalk. There are delightful undertones of baked lemon meringue pie, adding a rich and comforting layer to its fragrance. On the palate, the wine opens with lively acidity, a testament to the ideal ripening conditions of the vintage. The mid-palate continues with notes of quince and pear and offers a mix of green and caramelized apples lingering on a long, textured finish.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The 2022 vintage offers a fresher, brighter, and more vivid expression in the aromas compared to the 2021, which is notably toasty and rich. The 2022 showcases super fleshy fruit notes of ripe yellow apples, fleshy peaches, ripe apricots, candied ginger, and honey-drizzled wildflowers. It is full-bodied with a creamy richness reminiscent of poached pears and apples. It is complemented by fabulous baking spice notes and a spicy undercurrent of razor-sharp acidity, giving this Chardonnay a distinctive edge. The creaminess of the fruit textures balances the acidity. The finish delivers a host of refreshing mineral aromatics with a slightly chalky finish. This wine is a tribute to Hope Signorello, the matriarch who passed away before the family established this wine brand. It has been bottled every vintage since 1988.
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Wine Enthusiast
Grand in mouthfeel and broad in flavors, this wine is also nicely balanced. It opens with malted milk and maple oatmeal aromas before buttery baked apples and pear syrup meet toasted almonds on the palate. Aged on the lees in half new French barrels, the wine is a big, opulent bottling for a special occasion.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Chardonnay Hope's Cuvée comes from the oldest vines of the estate, planted in 1980. It has a pure, Burgundian-like nose of stone fruits, toasted spice, white flowers, and a subtle nutty hint that carries to a medium-bodied, nicely textured, balanced style on the palate. It will drink nicely for 5-7 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From the estate's own vines, the 2022 Chardonnay Hope’s Cuvée was completely barrel fermented, with approximately 50% new French oak, and a similar proportion of the wine was put through malolactic fermentation. Vanilla accents citrus, white peach and pineapple notes on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is creamy and lush, a plush, luxuriously silky style that speaks to both Napa and a warm vintage but with just enough acidity on the finish to maintain a sense of drinkability.
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James Suckling
Rich, toasty aromas and full flavors make this full-bodied wine quite attractive. The estate-grown grapes were picked before the massive heat dome that interrupted harvest in Napa. Butter, toasted almonds, poached pears and vanilla coat the palate.
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.
One of the world's most highly regarded regions for wine production as well as tourism, the Napa Valley was responsible for bringing worldwide recognition to California winemaking. In the 1960s, a few key wine families settled the area and hedged their bets on the valley's world-class winemaking potential—and they were right.
The Napa wine industry really took off in the 1980s, when producers scooped up vineyard lands and planted vines throughout the county. A number of wineries emerged, and today Napa is home to hundreds of producers ranging from boutique to corporate. Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely the grape of choice here, with many winemakers also focusing on Bordeaux blends. White wines from Napa Valley are usually Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that claim specific wine characteristics based on situation, slope and soil. Farthest south and coolest from the influence of the San Pablo Bay is Carneros, followed by Coombsville to its northeast and then Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford. Above those are the warm St. Helena and the valley's newest and hottest AVA, Calistoga. These areas follow the valley floor and are known generally for creating rich, dense, complex and smooth red wines with good aging potential. The mountain sub appellations, nestled on the slopes overlooking the valley AVAs, include Stags Leap District, Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley (farther east), Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder, Spring Mountain District and Diamond Mountain District. Napa Valley wines from the mountain regions are often more structured and firm, benefiting from a lot of time in the bottle to evolve and soften.