2003 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard
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Tasting notes
(15.4% alcohol; 6.4 g/l acidity; 0.83 g/l volatile acidity, at the high end for these wines, along with the 2002 and 1999; aged in 37% new and 63% once-used barrels): Full yellow-gold. Very ripe, slightly honeyed aromas of yellow fruits. At once glyceral and energetic, offering hints of soft citrus fruits, toffee and salted butter. Broad and plush but firmed by some added acidity. Finishing with a slight dry edge, this wine needs to be drunk soon.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Yellow-green color. Lime, apple, spices and a floral topnote on the nose; more fruit-driven than the Hudson. Boasts lovely juicy fruit intensity but comes across as quite tightly wound today. This is much less expressive than the 2003 Hyde bottling was at the same stage; last year it was the '03 Hudson that was in a rather mute stage in March.
The 2003 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is a stunning wine of great individuality, with wonderful minerality, sweet lemon oil, honeysuckle, white currant, and floral notes intermixed with a crushed rock-like note, and a long, heady, full-bodied finish. This beautiful, pure Chardonnay should age nicely for 5-7 years. Ramey kindly did a vertical of his two single-vineyard Chardonnays from the Hyde and Hudson Vineyards, and it was interesting that the Hudson aged quickly and was beginning to fade after 2-3 years, but the Hyde wines, even the oldest one, the 1996, were fresh and superb. David Ramey also has a successful consulting business. His list of clients includes the likes of Benziger, Saracina, Dierburg, Niebaum-Coppola, Lancaster, Audellsa, Landmark, Snowden, Rodney Strong, and Manoogian. Tel. (707) 833-2535; Fax (707) 833-5620