Two Legendary California Chardonnays

Recently, I had the chance to try two legendary California chardonnays side-by-side. One is legendary because it is highly rated, expensive, well-made, and hard to acquire. The other is legendary because the winery that made it has been making wine from it's now very old vines (the oldest pinot noir and chardonnay vineyard in the U.S.) the same way for more than fifty years.

  • 1998 Hanzell Chardonnay - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (4/29/2008)
    Dark gold color, crystal clear and gem-like. Flinty nose of ripe fruit and minerals. Medium body with layers of flavors including baked bread, and citrus, with honey on the finish. Clearly new world, but made in a very refined style. Beautiful fresh wine with elegance and complexity. (94 pts.)
  • 1998 Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (4/29/2008)
    Deep golden color, slightly cloudy indicating no filtration. Fairly reserved nose of ripe fruit and vanilla. Medium-full body, big full tropical and lime flavors with just noticeable oak. Good finish, but ultimately lacking finesse and complexity. (92 pts.)

If I didn't have the Hanzell to compare the Marcassin to, I would have thought the Marcassin was a tremendous wine. But, compared to the Hanzell, it was a pretender. I've tasted both younger and older Hanzell chards that didn't have this special complexity and elegance, so these wines clearly require both a good vintage and some aging. Young Hanzells seem thin, closed and uninteresting, but with time, they bloom. I have no doubt that I would have preferred the Marcassin had I compared the two six years ago, but it's true what they say: good things come to those who wait.

Here is a Hanzell Chardonnay vine in the Ambassador vineyard, planted in 1953.

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This page contains a single entry by Paul published on May 1, 2008 7:36 AM.

Memories was the previous entry in this blog.

Tasting Note: 1997 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel is the next entry in this blog.

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