2018 Hudson Ranch Chardonnay Ladybug
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Notes of orange blossom, lemon peel, and exotic flowers define the 2018 Chardonnay Ladybug, which is named after winemaker Clayton Kirchhoff’s wife. Barrel fermented and aged 23 months in 80% new French oak, it’s another medium to full-bodied, rich yet lively Chardonnay from this estate that does everything right.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2018 Chardonnay Ladybug emerges from a parcel on the property with wider diurnal shifts, meaning warmer days and cooler nights. That yields a Chardonnay endowed with tons of intensity and volume. Lemon confit, hazelnut, pastry and tropical notes all build in the glass. The Ladybug is a bit reticent today, but a year or so in bottle should do the trick.
The 2018 Chardonnay Ladybug was aged for 23 months in French oak, 80% new. It soars out of the glass with vibrant scents of pink grapefruit, pineapple upside-down cake and passion fruit with lovely lemon drop, honeysuckle and mandarin peel hints plus a spicy touch of nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is achingly silken, subtly nuanced and yet wonderfully intense, multilayered and long, long, long. Crazy good Chardonnay!