2004 HdV Chardonnay (Hyde Vineyard)

A dense, well balanced and complex wine. This Chardonnay shows layers of stone fruit and mineral character with peach, citrusy and honeysuckle notes. The wine knows how to retain flavors with a structured acid backbone and a lingering, refined finish.

"The 2004 HdV Chardonnay will improve for another five to eight years and will be a great addition at a table with food, friends and family. Serve at 55°F and may be paired with monkfish, scallops, sea bass, lobster or chicken."

Wine Spectator

Rating: 94 points
A brilliant effort. Intense, deep and concentrated, with pure, sharply focused fruit that reverberates with flavor, offering tiers of fresh-cut apple, pear and citrus flavors that are crisp and lively. Has the richness and density to age a decade. Drink now through 2010.
James Laube - April 30, 2007

Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine

Rating: 95 points, 3 puffs
"Enormously energetic in its delivery of sweet, inviting Gala apple and minerally first notes in its wonderfully refined aromas, this impeccably balanced wine is still developing and its layered mix of oak, fruit and acid promises better and better to come with time in the bottle. It is full in body, yet never heavy, and it is both lively and attractively deep in flavor with a lengthy, brisk, nicely focused finish. It may have enormous early charm, but its best will not be seen for some years yet."
Charles Olken - February 2007

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Rating: 90 points
"Bright, pale yellow. Leesy deeply pitched aromas of fruit cocktail, earth and minerals, complicated by toffee, clove and tropical fruit nuances. Rich and silky in the mouth, with an exoctic high-toned quality and a fatter texture than the de la Guerra bottling. This is sweeter, fuller and more pliant chardonnay, with a deeper pitch to its flavors. Finishes with very good breadth and length, as well as a mineral firmness"
January/February 2007

Wine Enthusiast

Rating: 93 points
"Made from the Hyde Vineyard, (although it's not designated on the front label), this is as good as Carneros gets. It's soft and opulently layered, offering waves of pineapple, mango, guava, nectarine, peach and new oak flavors in a rich, creamy-leesy texture. The warmth of the vintage worked for this Chardonnay, keeping the Carneros fog away and elevating the wine to perfect ripeness."
December 2006

Restaurant Wine

Rating: 5 Stars
"Top Chardonnay: fleshy, rich, and complex; a wine with intense fruitiness (peach, pineapple, candied lemon, grapefruit), evident oakiness (roasted nut, spicy oak, toast), and an extremely long finish."
Issue 115

Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences

Rating: Exceptional
"Citrus and finely crafted Chardonnay flavors with a trace of vanilla/clove, and a faint hint of onion skin. A phenomenal example of French expertise and superb California fruit. One of the top Chardonnays I've ever tasted. Made the way Puligny once was."
September 2006

i-WineReview

Rating: 91 points
"This bottling is rich in fruit flavors and toasty oak and offers complex fruits on the palate with lovely mouth feel and texture. While still youthful, the wine displays great aging potential due to the wonderful acidity, concentration, and balance."
Jay Youmans, MW and Mike Potashnik, Ph.D, Publishers, International Wine Review - December 2006