2013 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard

(14.6% alcohol; 28% new oak; 6.9 grams per liter acidity, which is at the high end for Ramey's Hyde bottling; 30% new oak): Less oaky than the 2014 but showing sexy clove and cinnamon notes to go with the brighter lemon curd. Wonderfully fine-grained and glyceral yet light on its feet, offering adamantly dry, penetrating, youthfully tight flavors of lemon, orange zest, dried herbs, brown spices and salty minerality. Brisk, lemony and long on the aftertaste. This wine is extremely dry at 0.41 grams per liter residual sugar, but Ramey notes that all of these vintages finished below one gram. Splendid California Chardonnay with the structure for a graceful evolution in bottle.

Mostly planted in the late 1990s. The fruit comes from a specific block and you can see the difference between theirs and others', eg HdV. They are against stripping vines. Mineral and stony and pretty chewy and introvert. Quite reticent with some mandarin elements. Long and opens out on the end. (JR)

The 2013 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is one of the richest, most powerful Chardonnays in the range. Here it is the wine's phenolic and sense of vertical structure that stand out most. Even with all of its obvious richness and heft, the Hyde preserves remarkable freshness. Dried herbs, orange peel and buttery notes add nuance on the large-scaled, ample finish.