WS: 97
This remarkable wine leaps out of the glass with its complexity. Offers cardamom cake, grilled pineapple, peach preserves and apple pastry, plus a note of papaya that’s fleshy and juicy. The fresh thread of acidity is complemented by a mineral streak of crushed rock, lemon salt, white pepper, lemon balm and toasted sesame seed. There’s plenty of momentum on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2039. 1,048 cases made. –MW
WA: 96+
The 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is youthfully coiled on the nose, its fruit tucked behind a wispy curtain of matchstick. The medium-bodied palate is much more open at this stage, offering highly concentrated, peach and citrus flavors and a luxe, satiny texture. It’s balanced by firm, focused acidity and has a very long, mineral-driven finish. It’s dynamic, continually changing and shifting in the glass, and it should be long lived in the cellar.
VM: 94+
The 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is laced with apricot, dried herbs, chamomile and light tropical inflections. I find the reductive note here overpowering. It will be interesting to see what time brings. Tasted again after a decanting and 24 hours of air, the 2023 fills out nicely, softening some of the reductive edge. I find the Hyde to be a bit of a question mark, as its balance is on the razor's edge. It's a 50/50 bet as to whether that reduction will dissipate or get stronger over time. There is something that is so alluring about the 2023, but readers need to know what to expect.
