After decades of research, working to bottle perfection, we arrive with our second HS Chardonnay. Hail Mary. It’s a game changer.
Releases February 2026 | Download fact sheet
WINEMAKER JEFF AMES’ NOTEBOOK:
Vineyards: These vineyards are an extension of the man, Larry Hyde. For three decades, he has had an intimate relationship with each block and vine and Carneros’s complex terroir. In the process, Larry has built an international reputation as one of the best growers in the world. His research papers on plants (clonal material) are reference points for our industry. He is a humble man, very dry of wit, has a good appetite for excellent food and wine, and likes the company of sincere winemakers and growers.
Winemaking: The 2024 HS Chardonnay is a blend of the best lots of our Beresini and Hyde vineyard Chardonnays. This shows the best elements of the vineyards with depth from very extended hang time and harmonious notes of the Wente and Calera selection combinations. Both vineyards were kept apart until after numerous blend trials and then racked to tank together for a month before bottling to allow them to integrate. It defines a wine that is more than the sum of its parts.
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: The 2024 HS Chardonnay romantically shows more of the Landon/bees wax side of the vintage, along with baked apple pie and honeysuckle. On the palate, this exhibits very full weight and continues on again with lanolin, tangerines, chalk dust, and peach. Very drinkable now, though this has a bit of tension to it that says probably best in another 2 to 3 years.
Vintage: 2024 shoots pushed in early spring with vigor due to excellent groundwater and warm conditions, forming healthy canopies. Before veraison, in June and into July, Napa experienced two short heat spikes which accelerated ripening. It was an early start for the vineyards, and an early harvest for the winemakers, a bit fast and furious toward the end, but overall one we all fondly look back on as special. The wines have great color, extract, layers of flavor, excellent #s (PH/TA/dry extract/etc..). 2024 is reminiscent of some of the great vintages of the past like 1987 and 1991, that have aged extremely well.
