HDV Hyde de Villaine - Chardonnay Carneros 2019 (750ml)

 

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Producer	HDV Hyde de Villaine
Country	United States
Region	California
Subregion	Carneros
Varietal	Chardonnay
Vintage	2019
Sku	210000001776
Size	750ml

Hyde de Villaine - Chardonnay Carneros 2019 

#3 Wine on 2022 Wine Spectator top 100

Hyde de Villaine is a family venture between the Hyde family of Napa Valley and the de Villaine family of Burgundy. Aubert de Villaine, Co-Director of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, married Larry Hyde’s cousin, Pamela (nee Fairbanks), bringing the two families together. Hyde de Villaine wines represent the shared histories and winemaking philosophies of these families and one iconic single vineyard.

From inception, Hyde de Villaine has had one mandate, create wines that capture the true essence of vineyard and deliver it to the glass…no exceptions. The families strive to reach this goal each vintage because it is their belief that an unadulterated expression of exceptional terroir is what separates good wines from truly great wines.

Located on the eastern edge of the Carneros appellation, Hyde Vineyard is regarded as one of Napa Valley’s preeminent vineyards. Growing fruit for many of the region’s elite wineries, Hyde Vineyard produces some of the most sought-after grapes in Napa Valley. For almost four decades, Larry Hyde has managed all aspects of the vineyard including clonal selections. 

Hyde de Villaine’s philosophy is that the best and most respectful winemaking is done prior to harvest in the vineyard. A range of biodynamic, organic and sustainable practices are used in the vineyard to ensure its viabililty for generations to come. The winemaking team spends countless hours working year-round with the vines to ensure that only the best quality fruit arrives at the winery. The ability to utilize multiple tank types allows Hyde de Villaine the flexibility to express the distinctive characteristics of each block. All wines are unfined and unfiltered.

HdV—for Hyde de Villaine—was founded in 2000, a high-profile partnership between two accomplished winemaking families: the Hydes of Napa and the de Villaines of Burgundy. The Hyde Vineyard, located on the eastern edge of Carneros, is among the most celebrated in California—its grapes go into stunning single-vineyard bottlings by Aubert, Kistler, Ramey and others. The age of the vines ranges from 28 to 40 years, with old Wente and Calera clones. Winemaker Guillaume Boudet ages the wine for 15 months in French oak barrels, 20 percent new, and then lets it settle for three months in stainless steel before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

Honeysuckle, oyster-shell and apple-pie aromas. Pears and lime sherbet, too. Flinty. Full-bodied, layered and integrated with fine phenolics. Some matchbox character comes through. Stemmy and spicy at the end from whole-cluster pressing. Wente and Calera clones. Drink or hold.

The 2019 Chardonnay comes from vines in the Hyde Vineyard that are 25-40 years old and planted to Wente (60%) and Calera (40%) selections. Aged in about 15% new French oak, the nose is perfumed and pure, with scents of quince, apricot, beeswax, river stone and citrus blossoms. The palate offers a compelling dynamic of satiny, expansive fruits and fresh, focused acidity, and it has a long, nuanced finish. It will continue to unwind in bottle over the next 2-3 years and gain savory complexity over the next decade.