Chardonnay Wines

wines

Beautifully layered aromas are composed by notes of citrus confit, white and yellow orchard fruit, dried apricot and traces of both wood and acacia. There is excellent density and richness to the powerful, palate coating and hugely long finish. This balanced but very firm effort completely transcends the rest of the range though note well that it’s going to require extended patience before it will reveal its full potential.Burghound | 93-95 BH

The 2019 Chardonnay Quink Vineyard is another fabulous wine from Trail Marker. Mount Eden Clone Chardonnay in this Santa Cruz Mountains site yields a wine that is rich, creamy and vibrant. Lemon confit, tangerine oil, mint, chamomile and light tropical inflections all build in the glass. Low yields and small berries amplify both fruit richness and salinity.Antonio Galloni | 92-94 AG

The 2020 Meursault Village comes mainly from Les Tillets and Narvaux, matured in around 25% new oak. There is a faint marine influence underlying the cooking apple and pear aromas, gently unfolding with aeration. The palate is well balanced with light peach skin and apricot notes, quite pretty though not complex. Yet for a Meursault Village, I find this very satisfying. Closure: Diam 5Vinous Media | 88-90 VM

The 2020 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard is bright and wonderfully saline, with plenty of mineral and savory accents. Citrus peel, mint, white pepper, chalk and dried flowers open nicely with a bit of time. There’s terrific energy and plenty of cut. Most of this fruit is sourced from the own-rooted vines first planted in 1971.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGThe 2020 Chardonnay Katherine’s Vineyard is terrific and shockingly good given the quantities produced. Burgundian-like aromas of stone fruits, chalky minerality, honeyed flowers, and brioche all define the nose, and it’s medium-bodied, with a supple, rounded texture, integrated acidity, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 90 JDDried lime peel, seared lemon pith, white flower and a hint of grass show on the nose of this bottling. There’s an earthy, crushed rock element to the palate, where dried apple and herb flavors also arise. Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

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

Matured entirely in oak (20% new from François Frères), the 2019 Viré-Clessé Vieilles Vignes Sur le Chêne has a well-defined bouquet with yellow plum, honeysuckle, quince and light vanilla pod aromas that gather momentum in the glass. The palate is very well balanced with dried honey, peach skin and white pepper, good tension here with a precise finish that has more persistence than the Quintaine. Excellent.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Muscular and powerful, the 2019 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Ruchottes wafts from the glass with notes of pear, orange oil, peach, nutmeg and spices. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, it’s a rich, broad-shouldered Ruchottes that’s quite demonstrative out of the gates.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP

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

The 2019 Saint-Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien 1er Cru has more delineation and mineralité compared to the Les Perrières, more terroir expression in situ. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, tropical tones such as passion fruit and mango, counterbalanced by a spicy/ginger tinged finish. It does not quite kick on as I might have hoped, yet there is still a lot of potential here. Expect this to land at the top of my banded score.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM(Jean Chartron St. Aubin "Murgers des Dents de Chien" 1er Cru White) Restrained aromas of very pretty white orchard fruit, rose petal and acacia blossom introduce intense and seductively textured medium-bodied flavors that exhibit slightly better overall depth and persistence. This is lovely and a wine that should age well over the mid-term. (Drink starting 2025).Burghound | 90-92 BHThe 2019 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Murgers des Dents de Chien has turned out nicely, exhibiting notes of pear, crisp green apple, white flowers and fresh pastry. Medium-bodied, bright and precise, with tangy acids and a saline finish, it will show well out of the gates.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 90 RP

The 2019 Beaune Clos des Mouches 1er Cru Blanc has a vibrant, energetic bouquet, the citrus fruit, mango and white chocolate scents bursting from the glass. The palate is well balanced with a smooth, viscous opening. Good concentration here, and very long and sustained. This represents one of the best whites from Bichot this vintage. Vinous Media | 90-92 VMFrom a 0.75ha plot at the top of the slope, in the Clos des Mouches, where Bichot owns some vines that give a wine of winning concentration. There is pleasantly ripe apricot and pear fruit, with a broad feel on the palate. Regal in stature, perhaps lacking a bit of acidity, although many will enjoy its rich character. Drinking Window 2024 - 2039.Decanter | 92 DECBetter known for its red wines, this premier cru vineyard also has a plot of Chardonnay. Ripe with yellow fruits and toastiness, this wine has a full-bodied character, juggling crisp acidity with generous fruitiness and texture. Drink the wine from 2022.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

(Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis "Montée de Tonnerre" 1er Cru White) A vague hint of the exotic is present on the wonderfully elegant lemony white orchard fruit scented nose that reflects additional notes of mineral reduction and oyster shell. The notably finer medium-bodied flavors possess excellent punch on the mineral-driven and chiseled finish that goes on and on. This is lovely and while it too will need better depth, the aging curve is sufficiently promising that I am optimistic that more complexity will develop over the next decade. In a word, terrific. (Drink starting 2027)Burghound | 94 BHThe 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is the sixth vintage that Dauvissat has produced of this climat, and he observes that it's one of the few parcels he exploits that isn't planted with the family's proprietary massale selections. Exhibiting notions of citrus oil, fresh bread, iodine and warm pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and lively, with fine tension at the core and a long, mineral finish. It's the most approachable while young of these premiers crus.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RPThe 2019 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru comes from the domaine’s single 0.30-hectare parcel. It has a refined, very classic Chablis nose with wet pavement and light nutty aromas that remain discreetly in the background. The palate is slightly honeyed on the entry, spiced with touches of stem ginger, and delivers good depth, leading into an edgy, saline, powerful finish. You will probably have to give this 3–4 years in bottle.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

Very complex nose of fresh hazelnut, candied citrus, flint and sage, plus a delicate touch of vanilla. Stunning concentration and mid-palate textural complexity for this appellation. Super-mineral and candied-lemon flavors cascade through the very long, crystalline finish. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2020 Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc Elévation 382 Montagne is another fine-boned but intensely flavored wine from Champy. Revealing aromas of pear, crisp green apple, freshly baked bread, lemon zest and hazelnuts, it’s medium-bodied, racy and incisive, with a fleshy core of fruit and a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RPThe 2020 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Blanc "Montage 382" (previously Elevation 382), matured in 20% new oak with some bâtonnage, is lively on the nose, just a scintilla of menthol here, nicely defined, quite complex compared to its peers. The palate is fresh and vibrant, a fine bead of acidity (pH 3.15) swatting away its core of richness so that it feels powerful, yet effortless and tensile. Superb.Vinous Media | 90-92 VM

The 2020 Yattarna Chardonnay is an exercise in floral restraint, streamlined power and palate-staining intensity of flavor. The wine undulates over the mouth and through the long and lingering finish. Yattarna is routinely a sophisticated expression of Chardonnay—one of Australia’s finest—and the 2020 season is the perfect backdrop for the wine. If you headed into this wine expecting a big, powerful, obvious wine, you would be sorely mistaken. The power is coiled within the folds of phenolics and volumes of fruit in the mouth. Sixty-eight percent of the wine is sourced from Tasmania, the balance from Adelaide Hills; the clonal selection is largely Bernard clones 95 and 96. It is scintillating and composed, elegant and poised, but so seductively concentrated that it sort of forces you to sit back and contemplate it. At 12.5% alcohol, it is weightless; the power undeniable.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPPale yellow. Sharply delineated aromas of ripe citrus and pit fruits, pear nectar and tarragon take on honeysuckle, vanilla, chamomile and smoky mineral notes as the wine opens up. Silky and penetrating on the palate, offering deeply concentrated yet surprisingly lithe Anjou pear, white peach and tangerine flavors and hints of toasted nuts and saffron. Juicy and tightly focused on the strikingly long finish, which features resonating hazelnut, vanilla and citrus fruit notes.Vinous Media | 96 VMRarefied and seamless, this austere wine draws you into its soft layers of complexity. The floral entry is gentle, with discrete white peach and citrus blossom. Fleshy pith clings to the palate, while a lick of strong lime juice frames the edges. It doesn’t exert the same power and punch of previous vintages, but the flavours drive long and true, being a defining feature of the distinctive acidity found in Tasmanian fruit, here blended with parcels from the Adelaide Hills. Released at A$175/bottle.Decanter | 96 DECThe oak is strongly expressed in this blend of Tasmania and Adelaide Hills chardonnay. Aromas of toasted hazelnut, as well as peach, lemon, grapefruit and wet stones abound. There’s nougat and spiced bread here, too. The palate holds an intense core of ripe-peach, grilled-lemon and nectarine fruit flavor delivered in a mouthwateringly intense mode, with flavors of grapefruit, grilled lemon, toasted nuts and a bracingly fresh, unwavering drive of acidity. Drink now.James Suckling | 96 JSThe sources for this 2020 Bin 144 Yattarna include Tasmania and Adelaide Hills. It spent eight months in French oak barriques, 86% new. It zips out of the glass with ready-to-go scents of fresh grapefruit, white peaches, and lemon curd, leading to hints of lemon butter and marzipan with a touch of orange blossom. Light-bodied, the palate is refreshing with racy acidity, lifting the bright, intense citrus and stone fruit flavors to a long finish. This tangy (3.05 pH), tight-knit style is built for aging, so give it a couple of years in the cellar to blossom and drink it over the following 15 years+.The Wine Independent | 95 TWI

Produced from 2.5 ha of domaine vines around the village of Beaune, notably the young vines of the Clos des Mouches, along with some purchased must. The grapes are pressed gently as whole clusters, lightly settled and fermented in cask (20% new). The wine has a lovely, buttery nose, with a ripe apple fruit and rich, nutty aromas that develop with time. Drinkable now, this will definitely continue to improve. Drinking Window: 2021 - 2029Decanter | 92 DEC

This is marvellous. Blain crushes the grapes lightly and avoids sulphur until after malo. His way of working produces this subtle, elegant wine with notes of ripe pear touched with acacia blossom, a touch of smoke and his trademark minerality. The texture is dense but never heavy, and the wine lingers elegantly on the finish. Blain explains the difference between Bâtard and Criot, just across the street: Bâtard has deep clay, while Criots has a stonier soil and one always senses the minerality.Decanter | 96 DECThe 2020 Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru comprised just three barrels in this vintage, which is three more than most growers. It was picked on 21 August. There is wonderful tension on the nose with scents of lanolin and fern, beautifully defined and vibrant. The palate is very complex with touches of ginger complementing the citrus fruit, building all the time in the glass and fanning out on the finish. Excellent.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis is relatively firmly reduced so if you’re tempted to try a bottle young, be sure to give it some air first. Otherwise, there is good power and underlying tension to the medium weight plus flavors that retain solid delineation on the impressively long finish. This will need to add depth with time in bottle, but the material is present for that to occur.Burghound | 93 BH