After decades of research, working to bottle perfection, we arrive with our second HS Chardonnay. Hail Mary. It’s a game changer.
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Tor’s Note: I have a confession: I am a Chardonnay fanatic. First, it was white Burgundies; then the Chardonnays grown in the finest, coolest wine-growing appellations of California that pushed serious buttons. They still do after a half century of ripping thousands of corks with the great winemakers in Burgundy and California, good friends, and family. After decades of research, working to bottle perfection, we arrive with our second HS Chardonnay. Hail Mary. It’s a game changer.
Winemaking: Made solely from the famous Hyde Selection from both the Hyde and Beresini vineyards that TOR has been fortunate to work with. This wine shows the best attributes of these two amazing sites with the floral qualities of the Hyde vineyard and the added richness of the Beresini vineyard. A true testament to Larry Hyde’s foresight and dedication to the exceptional Chardonnay plant material.
Winemaker Tasting Notes: A wine that is truly a sum of all its parts. Our HS Chardonnay is a blend of our best barrels from hallowed ground in Carneros. “Balance” perfectly describes the texture, acidity and length of our smallest production white wine. Notes of citrus blossom, brioche and hazelnut assault the senses. The minerality of wet river stones and flint compliments the fruit like the sun compliments the moon. We hope you love it as much as we do.
Vintage: The 2021 growing season began with January rains leading to a gentle, sunny spring. The summer was dry – the air clear and warm. By harvest, you could feel the excitement all over Napa Valley, with the potential of an excellent to possibly great vintage. Being a drought year, the crop was off 20% to 25%, but the forecast was for exceptional, concentrated wines. The clusters were uniformly small, providing high skin to juice ration giving the wines structure wrapped around a core of dense fruit. In the barrel these wines came together slowly, and by bottling, the forecast for exceptional wines was realized.
Our 2021 Chardonnays are some of our best, with infinite texture and flavor, yet their complexities and finesse prove they will evolve for decades – an ideal paradox.
