93POINTS
17¼/20
Hartford Court Chardonnay 2018
Russian River, Sonoma County, California, United StatesIt's taken a while, but Hartford is coming around to the notion that chardonnay can be both rich and electric. I thought 2017 was delicious, and 2018 is most similar. The Hartford Court label is the best the winery has to offer. In this case, the chardonnay, all Russian River, comes off select estate vineyards: Jennifer's, Fog Dance, Bellflower, and Arrendell, as well as a handful of neighbouring sites. The flavours are a compilation of AVAs as described by winery: Middle Reach – ripe fruits, honeysuckle and jasmine characters; Green Valley – citrus, lemon drop candy and green apple aromas and flavours; Laguna Ridge – baked apple and pear, layered texture, crystallized ginger finish; and Sebastopol Hills – bright citrus oil aromatics with focused acidity and lemon-lime flavours. It's Grand Cru-like chardonnay, again less fat, more purity, tighter structure, better oak but less new oak (25 percent). See for yourself. Bet you can't stop finishing the bottle.Tasted: 11 April 2020Tasted by: Anthony GismondiPrices:BC | $54.99 | 750ml | select private wine shops |
AB | $53.99 | 750ml | private wine shops |
ON | $53.95 | 750ml | B&W Wines |
Grape: ChardonnayCSPC: 442640UPC: 633072815281