Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 47

YEAR'S BEST US CHARDONNAYS
517770

92 | Patz & Hall

$60

91 | Ancien

$38

91 | Massican

$45

2017 Carneros Napa Valley Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay ^ This wine manages to feel
substantial and brisk at once. It presents flavors of ripe apricot, buttered almond and
dried mango as part of its complex, nutty
freshness while its cool acidity brings it to
a mouthwatering finish. Pour it with misoglazed black cod. (214 cases) -J.G.
517443
2016 Carneros Chardonnay ^ There's a Marcona-almond savor to this rich, toasty wine.
Its peaches-and-cream notes give the wine a
fine texture while a haunting bitterness in the
finish brings you back for another sip-especially if there are Marcona almonds around.
(622 cases) -J.G.
517310
2018 Napa Valley Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay ^ Larry Hyde grows this chardonnay's
fruit for Dan Petroski, who selected a block
planted in 1992, where the musqué clone
lends this wine its floral perfume. It starts
out lean, with shishito pepper notes, then the
wine gains depth as it opens with air, turning
toward spicy pink-grapefruit flavor. Decant
this if you open it now, or let it fill out with a
year or two of bottle age. (W&S 8/19) -J.G.
517356

90 | Chappellet

$49

90 | MacRostie

$46

2017 Carneros Grower Collection One
Block El Novillero Vineyard Chardonnay ^
This wine's flavors of yellow apple and sweet
apricot lend it a supple, creamy simplicity.
It's clean and spicy, a juicy chardonnay with
fruit-skin notes that will meld with grilled
salmon over couscous. (671 cases) -J.G.
517534
2017 Carneros Champlin Creek Chardonnay ^ Scents of white roses and herbal tea lead
into this soft, creamy chardonnay, lasting on
pineapple flavors. Notes of sour cream and
oregano give the wine some cut. For poached
crab cakes. (122 cases) -J.G.
514434

90 | Patz & Hall

$65

2016 Carneros Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay ^ With its yellow-apple ripeness, this
wine is floral and crisp up front, then honeyed with beeswax notes in the end. Oak
aging brings scents of pastry that add a biscuit-like richness and suggest serving it with
a chicken pot pie. (W&S 12/18) -J.G.

$48

91 | Radio-Coteau

$64

2017 Anderson Valley DuPratt Vineyard
Chardonnay ^ Pale and substantial, this is a
bright and zesty chardonnay carrying yellow notes of chamomile and the fresh green
crunch of celery through a tight finish. Juicy
citrus flavors balance its savor. Bring out the
wine's earthiness with snapper roasted over
fennel. (1,023 cases) -J.G.
517775

517855

90 | Patz & Hall

$65

90 | V. Sattui

$44

2017 Carneros Napa Valley Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay ^ An earthy chardonnay
with some buttery tones to its tangy orange
and mango flavors, this holds to a savory
balance. It's a full and round 2017 from the
blocks Larry Hyde planted for Patz & Hall
in 1999, using the Hyde-Wente selection of
chardonnay. (1,337 cases) -J.G.
517647
2017 Los Carneros Napa Valley Chardonnay ^ A hint of struck-match reduction tightens up this wine's lovely peach-fuzz scents.
It's saturated with orange-citrus flavors, then
dry in the end. A clean white for an earthy
mushroom risotto. (797 cases) -J.G.

MENDOCINO
517391

95 | Trail Marker

92 | Copain

$36

2017 Mendocino Ridge Manchester Ridge
Vineyard Chardonnay (Best Buy) ^ If a California chardonnay could be Zen about its
alcohol, this one may be, delivering a wine
that's plump and structured rather than austere (the abv is 12.7 percent). This has the
flavor depth of finely ripened fruit, hinting
at nectarine, loquat, yellow roses, gingerroot
and white tea. But it's mainly about coastal
air. Drew Huffine harvests it from a vineyard
he first got to know in 2007, when he was
making wine for other wineries. The vines
have a direct view of the Pacific from their
sandstone ridge 2,000 feet above the ocean,
and their fruit impressed him for its flavor
expression at low potential alcohol levels (21
to 22 Brix). In fact, it was the fruit from this
vineyard that led him and his wife, Emily,
to start Trail Marker in 2012. Huffine says
the site was relatively immune to the heat
waves of 2017. After he crushed the grapes
by foot, he let them macerate for four hours
before pressing the juice into neutral French
oak barrels, where the wine finished primary
fermentation the following May. A delicate
chardonnay with the freshness of the Pacific
is a rare beast; this one is merely 112 cases. I
wish there were more-we need more quiet
beauty in California chardonnay. -J.G.
517436

2017 Anderson Valley Savoy Chardonnay ^
Touches of sweetness bring out this wine's
yellow-flower scents while oak contributes
spice, like apples and cinnamon baked in a
pie. Spring-like notes of mint keep it fresh,
suggesting it will age well over the next several years. (340 cases) -J.G.

N A PA V A L L E Y
518021

93 | Altvs

$40

2014 Napa Valley Chardonnay ^ A complex,
earth-driven chardonnay, this grew at the
Kuleto Estate Vineyard in the eastern hills
of Napa Valley. A portion of the fruit, after it
was crushed, spent a few hours macerating
with its stems, which seems to have contributed to the wine's heady perfume-lemongrass, pine and white cranberry all play a role
in its scent. The texture has matured toward
silk even as the wine feels potent and monumental, yet gentle enough to coast through
Cantonese roast pork. (310 cases) -J.G.

516670

93 | Newton

$55

2016 Napa Valley Unfiltered Chardonnay ^ This vintage is the first at Newton for
Alberto Bianchi, who had made wine at other
Moët Hennessy properties in Margaret River,
Marlborough and Mendoza after starting out
in Italy. He focused this chardonnay on fruit
from Carneros, with a contribution from
Rutherford; it fermented spontaneously in
French oak barrels (24 percent new) where it
aged as well. It's refreshing, firm and juicy, a
sleek chardonnay that feels carefully crafted.
Time in oak adds a salted caramel note to the
brisk and earthy finish. (W&S 8/19)-J.G.
514743
WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

https://www.patzhall.com/shop/chardonnay http://www.newtonvineyard.com/product/2016-unfiltered-chardonnay/

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019