2003 Hanzell Chardonnay

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 90.6 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View sunnylea57's profile
  • Report Issue

  2/26/2020 - sunnylea57 Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Far better than expected. The oceanic minerality shone through. A long, slightly bitter almond finish. The biggest surprise was the oak: it was still hanging in after 17 years. The oak was in balance with the rest of the elements.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View msuwine's profile
  • Report Issue

  8/25/2019 - msuwine wrote: 91 Points

  Drinking a 16-year old Chardonnay is inherently a bit of an experiment, one that inevitably begins with a recollection of where you were in 2003 (in law school, yikes!) and ends with an attempt to assess the wine, in light of but also independent from its age. For this taster of this wine, the results were a bit middling. I don't regret the experiment (about $50 at K&L), but I won't repeat it, either.
  
  Golden yellow in color; full, oily in body; somewhat muted nose of pear and brioche. The wine offered a subdued mix of creamy and citrus flavors - think orange marmalade, lemon curd, vanilla bean - followed by nutty notes, such as almond and macadamia. The finish has some acidity, but it's washed over by the honeyed tastes of the wine. This wine is not dead, but it's not very alive, either. No longer fresh or steely, it resembles a brighter version of a Sauternes. 14.8% alcohol. If you didn't drink this 7-8 years ago (when I expect it might have been impressive), drink now.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View eschaefer's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/11/2016 - eschaefer Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Aging gracefully this Sonoma chard had it all together at 13 yrs. golden straw color and medium body with a nose of apple and vanilla oak. Pleasing on the palate with a nice acidic backbone the wine had softened a bit from what was most likely a buttery chard to a well integrated bottle. Well Recommended

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Senso-beak's profile
  • Report Issue

  5/29/2012 - Senso-beak wrote: 90 Points

  Splurged on this bottle at Elizabeth's as it had some age and we wanted a big Cali. chard to pair with salmon and tuna dishes. This poured a nice gold/amber shade with big aromas of oak, green apple, nut, menthol and melon. Showing a bit of age, the massive fruit was missing, or at least tamed - leaving an oak dominated theme - yet this did reveal secondary characteristics that worked.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View xtrmjoe's profile
  • Report Issue

  3/5/2011 - xtrmjoe wrote: 91 Points

  My system (nose mouth finish) +/+, drinking very well, still could go another 3-5 easy.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 8 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.