Fall Release Hyde Vineyard Clare Chardonnay
2010

Winemaker’s Notes

Our 2010 ‘Clare’ Chardonnay is a serious wine of world class quality that should age effortlessly. The fruit had such classic Wente-clone purity at harvest that we opted to block part of the malolactic fermentation to maintain its mineral poise and saline freshness. On opening it’s a wine with lithe fruit, demure richness and pin-point vibrant acidity – not a Californian blockbuster. Yet one gets the sense that there’s great power lurking in the background, poised to unfold. With air the wine expands in the glass to reflect the natural density these mature low-yielding vines produce each vintage. Lovely dried apricot, baked apple and brioche flavors emerge as the wine’s full richness is revealed, yet it never loses the sense of laser-like focus and precision. This is a real understated beauty that will blossom in bottle over eight years and one of my personal favorite wines of the vintage. // Brilliant pale straw color. Great aromatic purity: lemon, mineral, sea spray, green apple, mint freshness. Opens to poached pear and toasted almond. Intense stone fruit palate, oatmeal richness and nutmeg. Density builds in the glass, intense salty acidity and nice waxy/oily finish. Serve no cooler than 55 degrees. Drink between 2012 and 2020.

Andy Smith