PATZ & HALL
CHARDONNAY 2018
DUTTON RANCH VINEYARD
Donald Patz and James Hall were colleagues at Flora Springs Winery before a shared passion for wines with a sense of place brought them together to create Patz & Hall, one of California’s crown jewel Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producers. In 1988 Patz & Hall was founded by Donald and Heather Patz, James Hall, and Anne Moses. The winery, to this day, maintains a reputation of excellence by consistently producing brilliant wines from some of Sonoma’s most renowned growers.
The Dutton Ranch vineyard is home to some of the oldest Chardonnay vines in western Sonoma County, with partial dry farming producing intensely concentrated berries. The 2018 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay is a blend of five clones- Hyde-Wente, Robert Young, Rued, UC Davis Clone 4, and Spring Mountain, aged in 35% new Burgundian French oak, giving the wine some spice while allowing the fruit to shine radiantly.
PATZ & HALL
CHARDONNAY 2018
DUTTON RANCH VINEYARD
Retails at: $44
Your Price: $39.99
“James Hall selects the fruit for this wine from 11 blocks farmed by the Dutton family. Most of the vines are older plantings of heritage clones and selections, a mix that seems to respond to a slow, spontaneous fermentation and development in French oak barrels (35 percent new). The 2018 builds to a savory and ornate chardonnay, a wine with traction that digs into scents of violets and game, jasmine and butterscotch, giving a sweet impression without any actual sweetness. There’s yellow and orange citrus fruit, but the main impression is earthy, with notes of lobster mushroom and lobster broth in a mineral finish. It’s floral, clean, intense wine, with stature and resistance to oxygen. Decant it for crab Louis, or cellar it for years.”
94 Points
Add a Comment