2015 Hartford Court Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard
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Coming from a coastal site just four miles off the Pacific, the 2015 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard was barrel fermented and aged 16 months in 43% new French oak. Buttered citrus, lemon, honeysuckle, white flowers, and building, salty minerality all emerge from this awesomely concentrated, deep, layered, and structured Chardonnay. This is a powerhouse. Full-bodied, opulent, concentrated, yet with bright acidity and perfect balance, it's an incredible effort and one of the finest Chardonnays out there. Don Hartford and winemaker Jeff Stewart have produced a sensational lineup of wines in 2015 (and I suspect 2016 as well). This is a smaller yielding year, and while quantities are tiny, the wines are concentrated, rich, and flamboyant while also staying elegant and seamless. These are world-class Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays that readers need to seek out!
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Robert Parker
Jeb Dunnuck
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The 2015 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard is a distinctly structured, savory wine built more on nuance rather than on overt fruit. Sage, dried apricot and a host of more mineral-notes are laced together in this distinctive Chardonnay. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, the 2015 packs quite a punch.
The 2015 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard is one of the most reticent wines in the range, but that is the nature of the Sonoma Coast. Mineral, citrus and white pepper notes give the wine its lifted, chiseled personality. There is real phenolic weight and intensity here, but in the deceptively medium-bodied style that is typical of sites on the true Sonoma Coast.
As for the 2015 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard, this is also from a very cold site, this one north of Fort Ross on the Sonoma coastline. The wine offers oyster shell minerality (or wet gravel), some pineapple, mango and nectarine, beautifully focused, full-bodied flavors, and a burgeoning complexity that is impressive on its own. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.