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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.4 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 62 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ricard on 7/31/2019 & rated 95 points: A stunning, stunning wine. I took a punt with the age - now 11 years, and it was absolutely the right decision. This is an *outstanding* Russian River Chardonnay. Exquisitely poised fragrance of apricots, peaches, melon, fresh cream, honeysuckle. Sublimely delicate. Wonderful density - weighty but not voluptuous, fresh but not sharp. Deliciously lip-smacking length. This is a wine of considerable seriousness and dazzling elegance. Age has made it better - more complex, more exciting, more memorable. It still has the residual sugar, acidity and body to continue evolving pleasurably for another decade. A stunning, delicious wine. (1218 views) | | | Tasted by PJohnsn on 11/22/2017 & rated 91 points: Pleasant minerally nose, very smooth palate and finish with lingering lemon notes (1436 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 4/26/2017 & rated 92 points: Anniversary Dinner with Friends (Anvil Club, East Dundee): Light in color and lacking the over-the-top oak I've found in a few older Hansels. Apple and citrus with mere hints of butterscotch. Apple and caramelized fig flavors lingering in the finish. Excellent, in a richer style. (1682 views) | | | Tasted by Vinnut on 10/20/2016 & rated 91 points: Second notes on this wine from about 2 years prior. Medium-light golden yellow in color. Forward, attractive & fragrant nose of complex, ripe fruit aromas of apples, pears & citrus notes of lemons/limes with overtones of floral notes of honeysuckle & minerals/stony, some butterscotch notes, spices & some toasty oak in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of balanced & smooth texture, complex, ripe flavors of apples, pears & lemons/limes with some butterscotch, honey, spices, stony, minerals, toasty oak & a slight touch of vanilla. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present & may be close to or at the peak of its development. I doubt it would develop any further, so drink up! (1605 views) | | | Tasted by Farnelicous on 6/25/2016 & rated 92 points: Fruit is mellowing -- still pear, apple, and citrus. I do drink a little cooler in the summer, 45-50 versus 55 degrees -- which mellows fruit.
Lots of mineral notes. Oak mellow. Obsolutely excellent structure. Still extremely creamy in mouth and very smooth finish. (1779 views) | | | Tasted by LARich on 4/29/2016 & rated 91 points: On its last legs but still wonderful.... (1241 views) | | | Tasted by brian przyzycki on 10/25/2015 & rated 90 points: On its downward slope. No pun intended. (1457 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 9/3/2015 & rated 87 points: Notes of sautéed apple and butterscotch. Rich and heavy, the oak dominates. Toast, banana and nuts. (1188 views) | | | Tasted by AllRed on 4/25/2015 & rated 87 points: 4th Saturday group "uptown" tasting (Our house): Very different than wine #1, this comes off as clumsy and much too oaky. Woody herbal oil notes to go along with lemon, butter and sautéed apple. Flavors of quince, butter, oak and coconut. Heavy. I expected this to be much better, though this will certainly have its fans. (1647 views) | | | Tasted by williamswhine on 1/2/2015: Part of sundry wine offering-- never got opportunity to taste (1174 views) | | | Tasted by LARich on 10/4/2014 & rated 91 points: Drinking beautifully now (1301 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 8/16/2014 & rated 94 points: PEARS, PEACHES, TROPICAL FRUITS, CITRUS, AND HONEY IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR ALONG WITH HINTS OF VANILLA AND CEDAR. NICE ACIDITY AND COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH. (321 views) | | | Tasted by Vinnut on 8/14/2014 & rated 90 points: Medium-light golden yellow in color. Forward, attractive and complex nose of ripe fruit aromas of apples, pears & citrus notes of lemons/limes with floral notes of honeysuckle, stony, some butterscotch notes, spices, minerals with toasty oak a bit of tasty oak in the background. Medium-full bodied with a good concentration of smooth texture, balanced, complex, ripe flavors of apples, pears & lemons/limes with some butterscotch, honey, spices, stony, minerals, toasty oak and a slight touch of vanilla. Long lingering crisp finish. Drinks quite well at present and may be at the peak of its development although it does have the structure to hold onto this current plateau for another year or two at most but I doubt it would develop any further. (1214 views) | | | Tasted by cookie7 on 7/3/2014: Vanilla and butterscotch on the nose. This is a heavy wine dominated by oak. Perhaps I waited too long to drink this one, but it certainly at a stage in its lifecycle where it is lacking acidity. (1220 views) | | | Tasted by thomaskeil on 4/28/2014 & rated 90 points: Fresh, expressive fruit with some acidity. Felt a little creamy/heavy, less verve compared to later vintages, leading me to believe that these do not age as remarkably as the other SVDs from Hansel. Still quite nice. (1304 views) | | | Tasted by Chainthroer on 12/22/2013 & rated 93 points: Basically the same as my posted notes on 10/30/2013 and 4/13/2013. An excellent chardonnay. This time it paired nicely with Dover Sole. (1417 views) | | | Tasted by Chainthroer on 10/30/2013 & rated 93 points: Looking more golden than yellow. Like last time, I waited a while for the wine to warm a little from the 55 degree cellar temperature. The wine has not changed much from my last evaluation: "complex aromas and flavors of poached pear, baked apple, lemon, creme brulee, minerals and French oak. Creamy and buttery in the mouth. Nice structure and balance. An extended finish that lingered." Good pairing with Atlantic salmon this time. (1409 views) | | | Tasted by Loren Sonkin on 10/27/2013 & rated 88 points: Wines at Chris and Renee's home. (Chris and Renee's): Not sure how long this had been opened. Creamy vanilla on the nose. Creamy texture which I liked, but still seemed like a lot of oak. Bitter on the finish which intensified in the glass. Its fine, but not great. (1997 views) | | | Tasted by LARich on 10/4/2013 & rated 88 points: Seems a bit off. Maybe bad bottle (1167 views) | | | Tasted by cos82 on 9/14/2013 & rated 90 points: Nice wine. Enjoyed by all. Butter and tropical fruits on nose and palate. (1197 views) | | | Tasted by affordableCollector on 9/5/2013 & rated 88 points: light yellow in color. spicy, citrus, floral, on the nose. floral, citrus, toast, orange, spice, mineral, on the palate. (817 views) | | | Tasted by LARich on 6/17/2013 & rated 90 points: Holding up well with a well balanced nose of honeydew and apricot followed by a light citrus character. Overall one of the most crowd-pleasing CA chardonnays around. Can last another 3-5 years easily although not likely to improve. (981 views) | | | Tasted by shelt on 6/8/2013 & rated 94 points: Wow! This has developed beautifully. Well balanced and much improved over my last bottle two years ago (89 rating). A wonderful blend of pear, apricot, and butterscotch-like notes, and a superb, lingering finish. Great acidity and subtle minerality. To be honest, I was expecting the California fruit and oak bomb I experienced last time, but this has developed into one of the best Chards I have in a long time! I'll wait at least another year before popping my last bottle... (1295 views) | | | Tasted by Chainthroer on 4/13/2013 & rated 93 points: Better to wait a little while to get closer to room temperature, after removing this wine from a 55 degree cellar, and then evaluate. Then, the aromas ignite. I got fairly complex aromas and flavors of poached pear, baked apple, lemon, creme brulee, minerals and French oak. Creamy and buttery in the mouth. Nice structure and balance. An extended finish that lingered. A very nice pairing with fresh halibut, right off the plane. (1165 views) | | | Tasted by Chainthroer on 2/6/2013 & rated 94 points: Last consumed 19 months ago. A strawish deep golden color; looks like it's unfiltered and unfined. Complex aromas and flavors of lemon, poached pear, baked apple, creme brulee, minerals and French oak. The same creamy, rich and buttery texture as last time; seems richer with a little more fruit depth. Great acid and balance. A smoothish finish of about 20+ seconds. I really like this wine. (1344 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, The Best of Sonoma (Feb 2012)
(Hansel Chardonnay North Slope Russian River Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, May/June 2010, IWC Issue #150
(Walter Hansel Winery Chardonnay The North Slope Vineyard Russian River Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Walter Hansel Winery Producer websiteChardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountyRussian River Valley Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia |
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