Outstanding. Exhibits notes of coffee bean, mocha, white chocolate, black cherries, and currants. Ripe and rich, with abundant tannin, this impeccably made Merlot should age graciously for 10-12 years.
From Mt. Veeder, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Mountain is a small cuvée of 307 cases of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 21 months in all French oak. This is outstanding wine, but don’t confuse it with the extraordinary Lokoya Mt. Veeder cuvée, which has been perfect over the last several vintages. This wine shows an opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of creme de cassis, blueberries, licorice and white flowers. It is medium to full-bodied, powerful and should turn out to be outstanding when in bottle.
Possesses a sweet bouquet of graphite, black currants, earth, and high quality spicy oak. It reveals a beautiful texture, terrific purity, and plenty of structure as well as an accessible sweetness. It should drink well for 12-15+ years.
The 2003 (vintage) is better than the excellent 2002, but both wines reveal notes of black currants intermixed with blueberries, acacia flowers, chocolate, and coffee. Both are layered and rich, but the 2003 is fuller-bodied.
a brawny, muscular, full-sized Cabernet revealing plenty of intensity, beef, and muscle. This chewy, thick 2002 possesses a lot of tannin, but also impressive levels of extract as well as intensity. Give it 3-4 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 15-18.
Planted at elevations of 900-1800 feet...an impressive effort. The deep ruby/purple-colored 2002 exhibits a sweet nose of cassis, chocolate, dried herbs, and loamy, earthy notes. Full-bodied, with superb purity, this rich tannic, ageworthy Cabernet should be at its finest between 2008-2020.
The 2012 Chardonnay Jackson Estate Camelot Highlands is very pretty. Almonds, hazelnuts, orange peel and apricot notes all meld together in the glass. The Camelot Highland is at once layered and also vibrant in the glass.
The top of the line 2011 Chardonnay Stature opens in the glass with orange blossoms, nectarines, butter, roasted almonds and honeysuckle. A rich, vinous wine, the 2011 is a very typical and representative example of barrel-fermented California Chardonnay.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Jennifer's is plump, juicy and forward. Super-ripe red cherry, plum, spice, menthol and rose petal are front and center. Plush, silky and creamy on the palate, the 2015 offers a striking interplay of lush fruit and bright supporting acids.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail is another of the highlights in this range. Bright red stone fruits are pushed forward in a Pinot that offers terrific fruit density in a mid-weight style. Savory and persistent, the Muldune Trail is a classic Anderson Valley Pinot. The Muldune Trail emerges from a site near Booneville, on the southern end of Anderson Valley.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block is a powerful, structured wine. Less obvious than some of the other wines in the range, the 2015 is built on bright acids and structure, while the fruit is more in the background. Next to the other wines in the range, the Hailey's is a bit compact, but it is quite attractive just the same. Red-toned berry and floral overtones linger on the finish.
Juicy dark cherries, plums, spices, new leather and menthol jump from the glass in the 2013 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard. This is a relatively exuberant, fruit-driven style for the true Sonoma Coast.
An addition to the range, the Pinot Noir Muldune Trail emerges from a site in Anderson Valley near Booneville. Floral aromatics meld into expressive dark red stone fruits in an expressive, mid-weight Pinot with plenty of personality. This cool-climate Pinot is a bit compact, especially through the mid-palate, but quite pretty just the same.
The 2013 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block is a young vines bottling from Arrendell, which here means an average age of around twenty years. Centered, poised and expressive, the 2013 is all about focus. Dark red purplish stone fruits, graphite and smoke add considerable nuance in a Pinot endowed with considerable personality.
Although unevolved and grapey, it reveals enormous density of fruit, richness, and concentration. A real powerhouse, with no hard edges, it possesses low acidity and layers of fleshy, glycerin-imbued Zinfandel fruit. It should drink well for 7-8 years.
Lastly, the 1995 Zinfandel Hartford Ranch is a worthy successor to the blockbuster 1994. Tons of new oak at first smell and taste excessive, but there is more than enough black-cherry, raspberry, and briery fruit to soak up the wood. This is a strongly-flavored, forceful, full-bodied, silky-textured Zinfandel with heady alcohol in its lusty finish. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.
The 2015 Chardonnay Stone Côte Vineyard is round, sensual and supple, with plenty of tropical notes. The stony character that is often evident in this wine covered by the sheer richness and luxuriousness of the fruit. This flamboyant Chardonnay will drink well upon release. Stone Côte is Hartford's Chardonnay from the Durrell Vineyard, one of the best-known sites in Sonoma Valley.
The 2014 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard is one of the most succulent, forward wines in the range. Apricot pit, peach, smoke, candied lemon and exotic flowers flesh out in a plush, inviting Chardonnay with considerable near and medium-term appeal.
Hartford's 2014 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard captures the richness and intensity that are typical of Russian River. Orange peel, honey, chamomile, wild flowers and hints of tropically-leaning fruit give the 2014 an expressive, extroverted edge.
The 2013 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard is quite pretty and lifted in style. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and white pepper open up nicely in a persistent, beautifully focused Chardonnay. The Fog Dance has a little less mid-palate pliancy than some of the other wines in this range, but it is highly appealing just the same.
The 2013 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard is one of the leanest and lightest of these white wines. From a ridge top west of the town of Occidental, facing Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean, this wine sees about 43% new oak, and comes across as Chablis-like. Medium-bodied with fresh apple blossom, crisp red currant and quince notes, it is a fresh, lively, cool-climate Chardonnay that, despite its new oak aging, has a naked appeal and flavor profile. Drink now-2022.
Bright floral notes lift from the glass in the 2012 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard. This is one of the more perfumed, brighter Chardonnays in the Hartford range. Pears, lemon, white flowers and spices are beautifully delineated in the glass.
The 2012 Chardonnay Four Hearts Vineyards comes across as a bit dense and compact at this stage, but there is plenty of power lurking in the background. Apricot, tangerine and Chamomile notes are all highly expressive here. These old vines, planted in 1975 (old by California standards) is felt in the wine's depth and resonance.
Hartford's 2011 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard comes across as quite reticent and inward. Apricots, nectarines, butter, honey and spices meld together in the glass. The 2011 needs time, but it is full of promise. Today, the 2011 is quite a typical wine from the true Sonoma Coast. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2021.
The 2011 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard is laced with citrus, matchstick, white flowers, crushed rocks and mint. Bright, fresh and totally articulate, the Fog Dance is another superb wine in this vintage. Floral notes reappear on the finish, adding a vibrant, saline-infused brightness. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018.