May 14, 2021 - Cotton candy, baby. And some aged...very aged, yellow fruits with a hint of butterscotch. Nice. But, not your go-to for a Chardonnay lover who wants the younger sweet style.
August 8, 2020 - Guess you can expect some bottle variation here at 11-12 years old. The last time I sat with this one it was almosr a year ago. That one seemed to be much more oxidized than this one last night. I'll always remember this one as my epiphany to Napa Chardonnay and probably white wine in general. This one was firing on all cylinders after it woke up. Pale straw yellow. Nose and entry was a bit more rounded than I remember and showed some aged yellow fruits, mango, lychee(?), pear. The fruit structure was a bit brambly and muted at first, but started to express after 30 minutes or so. When it did, the fruit was very present and acidity was quite ample for a wine that still showed incredible structure at its age. A big thanks to Keith for gifting me this wine!
September 6, 2019 - 6.5 years old since I've been here with this one. More buttered popcorn here with some weird kind of rosemary note. Aged yellow fruit. Almost picking up some banana here. This is the exact vintage that got me hooked on Hudson vineyard Chardonnay fruit. IMO this one is transitioning to a much more buttery side which is non reminiscent of what it was back then. So if you have this you might as well start drinking it.
April 25, 2018 - Probably ill-advised but I bought this on winebid. That said, it's in perfect condition. Relatively deep lemon color with tinges of green. Crystal clear. Aromas are forceful. The strongest of which is Genmai Cha tea. The green tea and roasted rice character. I don't find it fruity at all. Palate is rich on the front, broad. There is oak but it's absolutely just a part of the wine at this point. Finish is long and mouth watering. Lasts almost a minute. This wines (and wines in this style) are a testament to what is possible in California. I've tried some ten or twelve bottles of really good white Burgundy in the last week and I'd rather have this than every single one of them.
Improved over two hours and was best at about fifty degrees.
September 2, 2017 - At peak maybe even a bit past. Golden color. Rich caramel banana nose. Some white flower lift to the aroma. Low acid. Not all too dissimilar from a Beringer private reserve.
January 27, 2016 - Completely oxidized. Coravin'd 6-mos prior. Must have wrecked the cork.
May 23, 2014 - Light, pale gold. Nose dominates with scents of expensive, sweet vanilla tinged oak. Along the lines of a Beringer Private Reserve. Some bright citrus lurks in the background. There is certainly high quality fruit here and no doubt a great winemaking team behind this bottling. My own selfish wish; JUST LET THE FRUIT SHINE. After leaving the bottle open for a while, a strong sense of minerality in the fruit appeared. Unfortunately it was tinged with that sweet vanilla oak, albeit not as prominent as on the nose earlier. I would love, absolutely love to see a producer take this fruit and do a Chablis, Louis Michel interpretation as I have no doubt it would be absolutely wonderful!
June 21, 2013 - Opened 2 hours prior to decanting, then left for 2 more in a small decanter.
color is ripe lemon yellow. Nose is a little subdued, however there are signs of citrus, peach and yellow apples as well as some smoke. On the palate the same fruit flavours paired with a chalky minerality and butterscotsch indicates a maturing Mersault. Palate is creamy and rich, however the 15% alcohol is extreamly well hidden!
after 4 more hours in the decanter a much more meneral wi,e appears. Crushed chalk, oyster shell and acidity brings us a lot more in Chablis directon.
a very nice wine indeed!
March 6, 2013 - Very sorry to see this one go. This was the last one tonight. On to the 2010! This wine was served rather chilled. Goldenrod color on the pour. Very appetizing grapefruit, kiwi, melon up front, very good malo/butter thing going on here! This wine was dense with very little acidity up front when cold. Acidity started to peak through when the wine had warmed, but was not obnoxious and actually paired better with dinner. After warming, there was a hint of peach and mango. A very enjoyable wine after a long day at work. I think this one has several years still ahead of it, possibly 7-10 if you treat it right. But, I think the drinking peak is probably right now.
January 12, 2013 - This wine was served at slightly less than room temperature tonight instead of at proper serving temp. Was served as a pop and pour. This bottle had a lot of of lemon and pineapple tonight, very full bodied, the malolactic was intoxicating. Very well done bottle and actually paired perfectly with a seared rare ribeye steak. It didn't seem to hold up quite to the other bottle, but it is definitely a big chardonnay, full malolactic, and just luscious. Serve this Chard to those red wine snobs that swear they can't get into white wine, and they will be forever changed. Drink now, but I really do think this one could probably last another 5 years if aged in the right temp settings.