California White Wines

wines

Such an aromatic nose of fresh hay, meyer lemon, baked green apple and dried herbs. Full-bodied with such an incredible amount of refinement. Sleek and seamless. Nuanced is an understatement, as this wine carries multitudes, quietly expressing flavors of fennel seed, dried lily, honeysuckle, toasted almond and sage. Incredible. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 100 JSSugar Shack is produced from Montrachet clone vines grown in Rutherford AVA. It is aged in French oak barrels, 70% new. A barrel sample, the 2019 Chardonnay Sugar Shack has a fabulously flamboyant nose of juicy Bosc pears, ripe apricots and ginger cake with hints of orange blossoms, crème caramel and toasted almonds. The palate is concentrated, full-bodied and beautifully textured with loads of stone fruit and spice layers, finishing long with a chalkiness coming through on the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98+ RPThe 2019 Chardonnay Sugar Shack balances the richness of this site with the cool nature of the year. Rich, oily and viscous, yet also incredibly gracious the Sugar Shack is arrestingly beautiful. Lemon confit, dried herbs, crushed rocks and tangerine oil open in the glass, but it is the wine's balance that carries the day.Antonio Galloni | 95-97 AGMinerally, fresh and well-spiced, with plenty of toasty notes to the luscious mix of dried apple and glazed pear flavors. Shows hints of dried tarragon on the savory finish. Drink now through 2025. 809 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The nose on the 2020 Chardonnay Lauren Estate starts off with a beautiful briny / sea spray character, leading to intense grapefruit oil, lemonade, and ginger tea scents, plus wafts of lime leaves, ginger ale, and crushed stones. The full-bodied palate delivers fantastic tension with a lively backbone cutting through super-intense, tightly wound citrus and stone layers, finishing long and so, so fragrant. This gorgeous wine comes from a complex vineyard planted to four different clones: two old Wente clones, Mt Eden, and Corton Charlemagne.The Wine Independent | 100 TWIThe 80% new French oak is just barely noticeable in the 2020 Chardonnay Lauren Estate, revealed in the hints of pencil shavings that accent white peach and pineapple—there’s tremendous fruit intensity here. Full-bodied and powerful, this blend of four heirloom selections remains exceptionally zesty, clean and fresh, with great length seamlessly allied to considerable richness. For now, I give a slight nod to the 2021 vintage, but this is a similarly terrific wine.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPA stunning white, with salted butterscotch, marzipan and grilled peach notes up front, plus hints of nutmeg, toasted green tea and lemon thyme. Generous and intense, but also elegant, with a light touch to the fresh acidity that weaves in and out on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2030. 1,125 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSLinear and very structured with very fine and structured tannins that give this wine tension and focus. Medium body. Hints of stone and pear. Medium finish. Drink now.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2020 Chardonnay Lauren is the wine that is most like its usual self in 2020. All the textural richness that is typical of this site comes through loud and clear. Dried pear, sage, mint, chamomile and dried flowers all meld together effortlessly. The Lauren is the best wine at Aubert in 2020, and one of the wines of the year in this very challenging vintage.Vinous Media | 94 VM