Winter Release Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay
2019

Winemaker’s Notes

Our 2019 Hyde bottling is an extremely elegant, nuanced and poised wine from this historic vineyard in the Napa Valley’s cool southern Carneros district. It’s beautifully structured and vibrant, a classic expression of the focused character and purity of the exceptional tiny-berried fruit that’s grown and harvested here each year.

The initial taut character gives way to rich, forward fruit and botanical aromas with an attractive saline green herb quality. Aromas of apple, pear and nectarine blend with oyster shell and clove. Persistent citrus flavors on the palate are defined by waves of grapefruit pith and lime zest. The wine has beautiful flow and equilibrium – everything is in place and driving in one direction. The ripe, succulent fruit sits beautifully on the palate with a lilting quality and a long, mouthwatering finish of great persistence.

The wine has impressive expanding richness and oily weight with deep texture and concentration that’s tucked in for future expansion. The wine has really “put on weight” since bottling this past winter and will develop gracefully for the next 5 years. I recommend you approach this wine as if it were red, not white, serving at around 60°F, not too chilled, and decant for an hour if possible. Drink between late-2021-2027.

Andy Smith