2021 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay

Community Tasting Notes (18) Avg Score: 91.3 points

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  4/12/2024 - Funky96 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Aromas: Tropical fruits, peach, pineapple, some creamy notes. Lychee. Grapefruit. Very tropical. Hay note.
  
  Tongue: medium + acidity, medium + body. Slightly sweet but with acidity to match.
  
  It can seem a bit flabby on the tongue, but needs a serious chill to show its best.
  
  Decanted cold this time for 45 mins before. Very nice wine for the price, bought for around 25 originally.
  
  Would recommend. The pinot is also amazing and i would rate that above the chard for 21.

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  3/1/2024 - BlancdeBlanc Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Smooth, creamy, orchard fruit, perfect

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  1/23/2024 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Steely and rather light on fruit. Passed vintages have put this bottle to shame.

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  1/22/2024 - Vince_chip Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Moins tropical que d’autres bouteille, un peu plus bourguignon. Très bien.

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  1/11/2024 - Michael Mackenzie Likes this wine: 93 Points

  This stellar vintage was later and cooler than usual. Based on our measure of temperature, the average of the maximum temperatures for the 4 hottest months (crucial to harvest) Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, 2021 came in at 24.3 Centigrade. This compares to 24.8 Centigrade for a long-term average of the equivalent period in Burgundy. In the last 25 years, only 2001, 2004 and 2008 have been cooler. Winter was wetter than usual with 140mm more rain than average, filling dams and building the water table beautifully. Chill units started accumulating later than usual and a cool Spring and later budding accounted for the later harvest. A warm January was a welcome help towards healthy ripening. Any disease pressure from rain showers during ripening was effectively controlled organically. Yields, as always for us, were low. The Pinot noir harvest finished 10 days later than 2020, and the Chardonnay harvest finished 8 days later. Fruit quality and acidity were exceptional for both. The 2021 wines stand out for their complex, layered elegance, purity and mineral liveliness.
  
  Soil: Low-vigour, stony, clay-rich, shale-derived soil
  
  Alcohol: 13.40% Acid: 6.80 g/l pH: 3.32 Residual Sugar: 1.90 g/l
  Barrel Ageing: 9 Months
  Wooding: 26% 300 litre, 68% 228 litre French Oak Barrels
  Barrel Fermentation: 94% Foudre: 6% Tight Grain: 100%
  1st fill: 26% 2nd fill: 32% 3rd fill: 31% 4th fill: 11%
  Hamilton Russell Vineyards Toast
  French Coopers: Francois Freres 100%
  
  Yield: 2.35 tons/ha, 15.65 hl/ha
  Production: 3700 cases of 12 bottles equivalent Release date – January 2022
  Source: winery website (you cannot fault the attention to detail!)
  
  This was declared Chardonnay of the Year by Platter's 2023 Edition.
  Colour: light gold, bright, clear.
  Nose: q reticent, fresh, lime, not oaky at all,
  Taste: light body, v fresh and leads with acidity, saline, citrus, mineral, med finish, v dry, chalky, saline, almost austere, wood well blended.
  Overall, this seems like a baby right now, Chablis rather than Côte de Beaune and not v New World. Indeed, blind I would put it as a top Chablis Premier Cru. If you drink it now, I would decant it.

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