Chardonnay Wines

wines

The 2019 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard is laced with the essence of crushed rocks, white pepper, orchard fruit, white flowers, chalk and mint. It is a bit less forthcoming than the Alpine Chardonnay. Saline notes build into the palate staining finish. This classically austere young Chardonnay just needs time in bottle. Tasted next to the Alpine, the Horseshoe has more mid-palate weight and feeling of phenolic intensity. The differences between the two are remarkable considering the sites are just 400 yards apart. The Horseshoe is planted on Monterey shale, while the soils at Alpine are Purisima, a formation that is about 8 million years younger. Such is the complexity of the Santa Cruz Mountains.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGRipe Meyer lemons, crushed stone, white flower, and exotic spice notes all emerge from the 2019 Chardonnay Horseshoe Vineyard. Rich and medium-bodied, it has a beautiful mid-palate, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It shows the slightly more rounded, supple style of the vintage, yet I love its density and length. Give it a year or two and enjoy over the following decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD(Chardonnay “Horseshoe Vineyard”- Rhys Vineyards (Santa Cruz Mountains)) The 2019 Horseshoe Vineyard chardonnay from Rhys is one of the low octane whites from the winery in this vintage, as it comes in at a cool 12.3 percent. However, the wine is very expressive on the nose, wafting from the glass in a refined blend of apple, pear, fruit blossoms, a beautiful base of soil tones, a touch of hazelnut and vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied and tightly-knit, with lovely intensity of flavor and transparency, a fine girdle of acidity and a long, nascently complex and promising finish. This will need a few years to open up, but should prove to be a long-lived and lovely middleweight once it is ready to drink. (Drink between 2024-2035)John Gilman | 93 JG

This is a generous, layered white with lots of cooked apples and hints of coconut and vanilla. Full body. Phenolic tension, too. Lots of white pepper and saltiness underneath. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS

Impressive in salty pineapple and an underlying richness of crème brûlée, this wine remains balanced within its luxurious layers, with persistent freshness throughout. Unfiltered, it offers structure, graceful elegance and length, while being cohesive on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WE

The 2020 Chardonnay Los Alamos Vineyard opens with lemon and saline tones before blossoming to exotic streaks of panna cotta and honey. Medium-bodied, silky and richly fruited, it offers a balance of concentrated, ripe fruit on a bright, translucent frame and finishes with great length and anchoring texture.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPClassic high-quality Chardonnay notes of orchard fruits, classy oak, brioche, and honeysuckle all emerge from the 2020 Chardonnay Los Alamos Vineyard, a medium-bodied, pure, balanced, straight-up impressive white from this team. With plenty of mid-palate depth, it brings bright acidity, good precision and focus, and outstanding length, and while I like it today, I see no reason this won’t evolve for 7-8 years, if not over a decade.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2020 Chardonnay Los Alamos Vineyard is bright, airy and lifted. In this vintage, the Los Alamos Chardonnay has a bit more texture and mid-palate pliancy than is often the case. That’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, orchard fruit, white flowers, spice and tangerine oil build in the oily, beautifully textured finish.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGGavin Chanin’s Los Alamos chardonnay in 2020 is a departure from prior vintages, which are notable for their lean energy. This wine starts off with a rich attack, warm and fresh, bearing beautiful salted lemon fruit flavors. It’s the sort of wine that takes days to open, the richness and smokiness receding with air as the wine falls into an elegant balance.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SLight pear flesh, lemon butter and chiseled sandstone aromas show on the nose of this bottling. Warmer flavors of pear flesh, lime juice and chalk make for a fresh, fun and approachable palate.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

The 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills is the first vintage of Chardonnay from Donnachadh. It was barrel fermented and matured for around 10 months. Its aromas combine bright herbal, green apple and pear tones with underlying savory hints. The light-bodied palate is bright and fresh, yet offers a touch of anchoring creaminess that draws out the finish. Proprietor Drew Duncan says that for this vintage, fruit came from the Donnachadh estate, although that may not be the case in the future as this new project really gets up and running.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPThis brand’s new appellation bottling satisfies in both Old and New World ways. Clean, chalky aromas of bright Meyer lemon flesh and pith meet with a briny note on the mineral-laden nose. The palate is wrapped in chiseled-stone tannins, loaded with acidity and yet generous on flavors of white melon, lychee, nectarine and honeysuckle.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WE

The fruit for this impressive wine come entirely from the Martinelli Charles Ranch three miles in from the coast. Nutty, full-bodied and earthy, it shows a youthful grip around the edges of its otherwise lush, complex and generous richness, with a mineral-like quality of slate and salt on the finish.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThe 2019 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast has bright aromas of lemon, orange and peach with touches of almonds and wet stone. The medium-bodied palate offers an alluring dynamic of tangy acidity and a rounded, creamy texture, finishing long with pure flavors. 3,461 cases produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2019 Chardonnay Fort Ross-Seaview is vibrant with saline, oceanic minerality, lemon pith, and tarragon. The palate is curvy but focused, with green apple, Meyer lemon, delicate oak spice, and mouthwatering acidity. Drink 2023-2032.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2019 Chardonnay (Fort Ross-Seaview) is delicious. It offers up a beguiling array of orchard and citrus fruit, along with crushed rocks, mint, lime and white pepper nuance that add brilliance. This appellation-level Chardonnay delivers, the goods, and then some.Vinous Media | 91 VMCrisp and direct, with fresh-cut Gala apple and lemon curd flavors backed by vibrant acidity. Shows dried sage accents in the midpalate, with minerally notes on the finish. Drink now through 2025. 3,461 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2020 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard comes from vines planted in the 1970s. It was matured for 12 months in 35% new French oak and finished with six months in stainless steel. This shows the impressive concentration and generosity that could have defined the style of the 2020 vintage before the wildfires hit. Youthful tones of crème brûlée and toast give way to citrus blossoms, lemongrass and apricot on the nose. The medium-bodied palate pairs generous, honeyed fruit and a luxurious, mouth-coating texture with laser-like acidity that compels you to take another sip, and although the Arista wines generally age well, there’s no reason to wait for this—drink it over the next 3-5+ years. 650 cases produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPLeans into tropical notes of pineapple and mango, with fresh citrus accents, an elegant, soft body and fresh acidity that gains momentum on the long, expressive finish, where a touch of toasted green tea and honeyed, toasted sesame lingers. Drink now. 650 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2021 Chardonnay One Sixteen, matured for 14 months in 34% new French oak, takes some time to shake off its youthful crème brûlée and allspice tones to reveal apricot, beeswax and honeysuckle aromas. The medium-bodied palate offers powerful fruit and oak spice and satisfying freshness to lift the finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP

The 2020 Chardonnay Patterson Vineyard opens with tempered matchstick-like reduction that gives way to nuanced aromas of baked apples, quince, lemon and lime blossom and toast. The medium-bodied palate strikes a fine balance between satiny, concentrated fruit and focused acidity, and the finish is long, layered and detailed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA strong mineral streak of rainy sidewalk and chalk kick off the focused nose of this bottling, which opens ever so slightly toward lime pith, jicama and nectarine. The chiseled stone texture and flavor of the palate is pleasantly relentless, wrapping around the light lime and green-lemon flavors.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEThe 2020 Chardonnay Patterson is quite powerful. It shows a distinctly mineral and savory profile that is intriguing, but also bit out of character for the Sta. Rita Hills. Sage, mint, dried flowers and lightly honeyed notes are pushed forward, while fruit is very much in the background. It’s a compelling wine in this stellar lineup from Sandhi.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGJuicy acidity and a note of salted caramel mingle with mango, green apple and tangerine flavors at the core of this succulent white, which is vibrant on the finish. Drink now through 2027. 229 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

This is very unique in character, with sliced apple, honeysuckle and lavender. Spearmint, too. It’s medium-bodied with some pine and cooked-apple character in the palate. Flavorful, yet sophisticated and thoughtful. Minerally, compact and focused. 31-year-old vines. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSPacks precise flavors of ripe peach, apricot and salted preserved lemon, with lime accents and a savory thread of minerality. Offers a vibrant mouthful of acidity that keeps the flavors in focus, while a hint of dried lemon verbena peeks in on the finish. Drink now through 2029. 1,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2019 Chardonnay Goldberg Variations Hyde Vineyard is toasty and open on the nose with baked apples and white peaches complemented by wafts of jasmine, crushed almonds and graphite. The light-bodied palate is satiny with concentrated, toasty fruits and balancing mouthwatering acidity. It has lots of focus and energy, and hints of exotic spice in the undercurrent suggest there’s loads more expression waiting to emerge as this unwinds in bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPThe 2019 Chardonnay Goldberg Variations Hyde Vineyard comes from a great vineyard in Carneros and spent 16 months in 70% new French oak. It offers a touch more tropical nuances in its melon and papaya-like fruits as well as white flowers, toasted spice, and brioche-like aromas and flavors. These all carry over to the palate, where the wine is soft, supple, and opulent while still showing fabulous purity and precision. This is another gorgeous Chardonnay from this estate that will keep for 4-5 years, if not longer.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThe 2019 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Goldberg Variations No. 2 is a pretty laid-back wine for Hyde, where the wines tend to be richer and weightier. Apricot, lemon confit, marzipan, apricot, tangerine peel, lightly honeyed notes and dried flowers all meld together in this beautifully precise expression of Hyde.Vinous Media | 94 VMLots of beautiful cooked-apple, lemon-curd and light pie-crust aromas follow through to a full body with a round texture, pear puree and a hint of apple pie. A combination of softness and brightness. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 94 JS

I tasted the 2021 Chardonnay Belle Côte as a finished tank sample the day before it was bottled. From vines planted in 1990, it was matured for 12 months in 40% new French oak. It offers lush aromas of baked apples and apricots, jasmine, biscuit, nutmeg and cream with spicy, floral nuances arising as it airs in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with streaks of flint and focused acidity to balance its generous fruit. Expressive and inviting, it’s a pleasure to drink now, yet the way it transforms in the glass suggests it will also develop positively in the cellar over the next decade or more. 2,159 cases were made, and it will be released in February of 2023.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RP

A beautiful chardonnay with cooked apple, dried mango and mineral character with a pumice undertone. It’s full-bodied with solid tension and a curated finish. Extremely polished and focused. Tensioned. No malo. Made from organic grapes. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSThe aromas are restrained but compelling, influenced perhaps by the herb gardens that grow alongside the vineyard. There is chamomile and verbena together with just a hint of the apricot and mango of ripe California Chardonnay. The palate is equally restrained, refreshingly steely, with a sinewy backbone of acidity supporting ripe yellow tree fruit. Malolactic fermentation was blocked but a plushness exists to the texture from battonage and there is a definite sensation of spongy compression on the mid palate, generous and delicious. The finish is pure-fruited and long. This is a lovely, refreshing wine to drink right now, light on its feet but sinewy as a dancer.Decanter | 94 DECFresh and expressive, featuring Honeycrisp apple, yuzu and lemon blossom flavors that show hints of marzipan and nutmeg, this white offers wonderful restraint and focus. The long, juicy finish reveals a hint of fresh-grated ginger. Drink now through 2030. 1,609 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2020 Chardonnay Carbone is terrific. Coming from older vines (planted in 1988), it has a pretty, perfumed nose of lemon curd, ripe melon, and white flowers, as well as a subtle tropical edge. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with a solid spine of acidity and a great finish. It shines for its purity and elegance while still bringing good depth of fruit and concentration.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JDThe 2020 Chardonnay Carbone is sourced from old vines in the Berry Lane vineyard in Coombsville, right next to the Carbone winery. The blocked malo style yields a Chardonnay built on brightness and energy, with lovely citrus, floral and savory accents. This is such a gorgeous wine.Vinous Media | 92 VM

The second vintage to be bottled under this vineyard designation—the vineyard was planted in 2016—Aubert’s 2020 Chardonnay Park Avenue is a lush, full-bodied effort loaded with ripe-tasting stone fruit, set against a backdrop of white nectarine and fresh lime juice. Plump and creamy in the mouth, expansive and generous, it finishes with a savory hint of mocha. Sandwiched between Lauren and CIX, it’s a parcel that should yield even greater wines as the vines age.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPSucculent and lush, with buttery nuances to the apple pastry, toasted hazelnut and mouthwatering Honeycrisp apple, tangerine and Meyer lemon flavors at the core. This wine’s flavors and complexity gain momentum, ultimately achieving wonderful harmony on the long finish. Drink now through 2028. 1,644 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSA tight and linear chardonnay with dried apples, lemons, honey, sea salt, and white pepper. Medium body. Solid and beautiful. Candied lemons. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2020 Chardonnay Park Avenue is laced with the essence of dried pear, spice, lemon confit, apple tart, spice and a hint of new French oak. There’s lovely depth and density here, even if the wine narrows a bit through the mid-palate and into the finish.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

This full-bodied, incredibly rich and mouth-filling wine from a near-legendary vineyard saturates the palate with poached pears, marzipan, vanilla bean and crème brulee flavors, while being subtly lifted by a slice of tangy citrus that keeps it well balanced. Best from 2026–2036.Wine Enthusiast | 99 WEThe 2020 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is mineral-driven and powerful and offers a strong sense of place. Its aromas segue from iodine and saline to creamy citrus. The medium-bodied palate explodes with concentrated, savory fruit and tones of beeswax and flint. Its acidity is racy yet seamlessly integrated, and it has a very long, shimmery finish. It tastes clean and has what it needs to age, but because of the challenges of the 2020 vintage, I would lean toward drinking it on the younger side after a couple of hours in a decanter.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPStunning, with a mouthwatering mix of Honeycrisp apple, Meyer lemon, tangerine and pear flavors that come across as powerful, sleek and exact. Reveals toasted green tea, fresh grated ginger and loads of citrus zest grace notes on the fresh finish. Drink now through 2030. 535 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Great depth comes with impeccable balance in this beautifully proportioned wine that is silky and bracing at the same time. Bright acidity mingles with ripe Bosc pears, cream and toast flavors that linger nicely on the finish. Collectible and age-worthy, it will only improve with time. Best from 2026–2036.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2020 Chardonnay Rochioli Vineyard has pretty scents of baked apples, honey, roasted almonds and honeysuckle. The medium-bodied palate is satiny and expansive with a core of savory fruit balanced by bright acidity, and it finishes long and layered.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPFleshy, with honey-drizzled crisp apple, pear and melon flavors, plus spice accents that add warmth to the fruit core. Reveals a hint of graham cracker crust that lingers on the harmonious finish. Drink now through 2029. 765 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Great flavor concentration and a nicely taut structure define this beautifully balanced wine. It is refreshing and rich at the same time, carrying light lemon zest and green-apple skin accents on a delicious base of quince and Gravenstein apples, while gently coated with subtle shades of toasted oak. Best from 2026–2036. Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2020 Chardonnay Woolsey Road Vineyard was harvested on August 17th before the wildfire smoke arrived, and with its pure, mineral-driven expression, it’s worth cellaring for several years. The nose opens with iodine and nori tones that give way to pretty scents of panna cotta, spring honey and lilac. The medium-bodied palate is buzzing with shimmery acidity that enlivens its perfumed fruit, and it has a long, saline-driven finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPShows juicy apple and pear flavors that are crisp and sleek, with lemon meringue, ginger and tropical hints on an appealingly dense, fleshy frame. Delivering details of toasted herbs and minerality, this is harmonious and expressive on the long finish. Drink now. 359 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Ripe-peach, chalk, smoked-almond, matchstick and phenolic aromas. Floral notes, too. It’s full-bodied, creamy and oily. So balanced and restrained, yet dense and impressive. Minerally. Give this time.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2018 Chardonnay Hudson is sourced from Hudson selection, Old Wente clone vines that are 22 years old and planted on the Napa side of Carneros. The nose is redolent of butterscotch, baked apples, spice cake and chopped cashews with a core of baked pineapples and preserved lemons. The rich, full-bodied, decadently fruited palate offers layer upon layer of savory flavors with compelling lemony sparks and a seamless acid backbone, finishing seductively creamy and on a long-lingering honey-nut note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2018 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is another superb wine in this range. Unctuous and creamy, with striking freshness, the Hudson has so much to offer. White pepper, mint, orchard fruit and lemon confit are all given an extra kick of intensity in this racy, beautifully layered Chardonnay from Aubert.Antonio Galloni | 94-97 AGConcentrated poached pear and apple pastry flavors are plush and open-textured. Shows juicy richness midpalate. Buttery pastry notes linger on the finish. Drink now through 2024. 851 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

From a 20+-year-old section of Hudson selection Old Wente clone vines, the 2019 Chardonnay Hudson (a barrel sample) delivers a full-on exotic nose of tropical fruits, pineapple upside-down cake, beeswax and spiced pears with an undercurrent of cashews and brioche plus a touch of yuzu zest. Full-bodied, the palate is satisfyingly savory and multilayered, with tons of mineral sparks accenting the opulent fruit, and the long, decadent finish is beautifully offset by racy freshness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPAn inviting nose of jasmine, lemon leaf, chalk and beeswax. Full-bodied and light on its feet with delicate expressions of herbs and spices that carry over the palate in layers. Subtle vanilla bean and toasted thyme on the palate. Supremely elegant. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2019 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is a total knock-out. Ripe pear, white flowers, mint and apple tart are all beautifully lifted. Rich in texture, yet light on its feet, the Hudson is unbelievably beautiful and vivid in the glass. In a word: stunning.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThere’s unctuous minerality and savoriness to the baked apple and dried pear flavors that are lacy and well-spiced, with toasty and buttery accents on the broad-textured finish. Elegant and complex. Drink now through 2026. 579 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2020 Chardonnay Powder House is ethereal and gracious in feel. Effusive aromatics give the Powder House its lifted personality. White pepper, chalk, mint and lemon oil add quite a bit of brightness. The balance here is driven by energy and vibrancy more than by volume.Antonio Galloni | 90-92 AG