Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/10329
VARIETALS rel the third year. The idea is to have flash without being flashy and exotic flavors without being slutty,” grins Stewart. Better known for producing tasty sparklers, Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards has been bottling Chardonnay as a still wine since 1991. To meet the changing tastes of wine consumers, winemaker Bob Iantosca has used less oak and less malolactic fermentation over the past five years. The end result is a bright, food-friendly wine with crisp acidity and fresh fruit flavors. Executive VP Eva Bertran says she Napa Valley, Carneros On the Napa side of the appellation is the Hyde Vineyard, a revered property founded by Larry Hyde in 1979. Featuring shallow loamy Haire series soils, gentle slopes and ancient streambeds beneath the surface, Hyde is planted to seven unique selections of Chardonnay, as well as smaller blocks of Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Hyde was the reason James Hall, co-founder of Patz & Hall Winery, got so excited about Carneros. While working as winemaker at Honig in 1989, Hall had his first experience of working with cherished grapes from the vineyard. Hall now purchases the most fruit from the property on an annual basis. “My first impression of Chardonnay from Hyde Vineyard was very aromatic, vibrant, acidic and very exciting. It was like the closest thing I had tasted to Burgundy, but with a different type of attitude, depth and tangy composure,” said Hall, who makes separate vineyard-designate Chardonnays from Hyde and the Hudson Vineyard, also in Carneros. Besides being sold to Patz & Hall, Kistler and Ramey, fruit from the vineyard is also used to make Hyde de Villaine (HdV) wines, a unique project started by the Hyde family and Aubert de Villaine, director at Burgundy’s famed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, who is married to Larry’s cousin Pamela. To make the Burgundy-style Chardonnay with a California twist, HdV hired talented young wine- maker Stéphane Vivier, a Burgundy native and a graduate of the enology program at the University in Dijon. When Vivier arrived at the Hyde Vineyard in 2002, he was amazed by the diversity of soils and grapes varieties that could be grown there. “In Burgundy, loves the direction Gloria Ferrer’s Chardonnay program is taking. “Consumers now expect great flavors, depth, a balanced mouthfeel, and those sexy notes of citrus on the finish that makes Carneros a special place on the global wine map!” Stéphane Vivier, talented winemaker of Hyde de Villaine wines. Chardonnay is the queen of grapes—a variety which stands up straight and tall to showcase bright flavors, acidity and extra touches of minerality, graininess and nuances of the surrounding land,” notes Vivier. “Currently, the same thing is happening at the Hyde Vineyard—except with more sun and a mixture of dynamic terroir.” Each year, Vivier produces two unique Chardonnays. De La Guerra is a tasty Chablis-style wine made with younger vines and aged in a combination of concrete, stainless steel and a tiny amount of oak. In contrast, the HdV Chardonnay is an expressive and complex wine fermented in Seguin Moreau barrels; it features textured flavor of citrus, pear, peach, mineral and spice and, in the end, tastes like a fine Meursault made on America soil. Priceless terroir at the Hyde Vineyard in the Napa Valley district of Carneros. 116 / the tasting panel / may 2010