Chardonnay

Score

97

"Jasmine Hirsch makes some of Sonoma Coast™s most elegant and textured wines. We just can™t get enough of the balance and structure demonstrated in her Chardonnays, and this estate bottling is a perfect example of Hirsch™s sense of place and dedication to quality. Honeysuckle and ripe apples welcome the nose with hints of white pepper and herbs flitting about. The palate is a study in balance with calm medium fruit depth and racy acidity."

Score

95

"The lime, sliced green apple and honey aromas dominate. Full-bodied and broad shouldered, with flavors of honeysuckle, lemon rind and hints of other white flowers. There™s density and lightness to this. Drink or hold."

Score

94

"In 2022, Hirsch started bottling its estate Chardonnay at 11 months. Consulting winemaker Michael Cruse, œsuggested we stop over-vintaging it,” Jasmine Hirsch explains. œI think it helped bring down the lees expression to show the terroir and natural texture this wine has,” noting that the vines, planted in 1994, are now 30 years old. The 2023 Chardonnay Estate underwent full malolactic conversion and was matured in around 30% new oak. It is pure and expressive with aromas of peach, apricot, green guava, citrus blossoms and brioche. The medium-bodied palate pairs bright, refreshing acidity with ripe fruit and a mouth-coating texture, and it has a long, flavorful finish. 920 cases were made."

Score

96

"It's very apparent how much we love the elegant wines from Hirsch Vineyards on the extreme Sonoma Coast. This Chardonnay is stunning to say the least. It has a nose of pears, crisp apples, and subtle herbs. But it's the palate that will get you. It's rich, grippy, and lush with an amazing finish and texture. You won't want it to end."

Score

96

"Consultant Michael Cruse makes this Chardonnay for Hirsch, and winemaker Jasmine Hirsch thinks his sparkling wine chops really show up in this wine. Hirsch has two Chardonnay plantings, including 30 year old vines which offer the textured, exotic, fleshy,honeysuckle character in this wine. Over vintage on clean lees, in 2022 we bottled it early, ginger, and lemon cream, a creamy lemon curd, almond cream, saline character that brightens up the whole affair with singing minerality."

Score

95

"The 2021 Chardonnay Estate is precise and detailed despite its inherent generosity. The nose offers pure crushed apple, flint, dried hay and jasmine aromas. The medium-bodied palate features highly concentrated, savory and floral fruit. It has a luxuriously satiny texture, refreshing acidity and a long, nuanced finish."

Score

95

"The 2022 Chardonnay Estate is fabulous. In fact, it™s one of best Chardonnays I have tasted so far in this irregular vintage. Painfully low yields resulted in an especially dense, almost phenolic, tropical Chardonnay. This was pressed heavy and then bottled early and those decisions paid off big time."

Score

94

"Jasmine Hirsch says the grapes for the Hirsch Estate Chardonnay come from a parcel her father, David Hirsch, planted for Burt Williams of Williams Selyem fame. Additional grapes come from a smaller parcel added in 2002, from a sandstone bluff just over the hill from the original slope. It is pressed, settled, and both primary and malolactic fermentations are conducted in French and Eastern European oak barrels (27% new). No stirring racked to stainless steel on the fine lees the last few months of elevage. Heady aromas of wild fennel and thyme with lemon oil, jasmine, acacia, and seaspray. Fresh and bright, focused, and linear with a real savoury quality. The palate yields a fabulously rich texture. It was a higher-yielding vintage, which was good for this bottling, says consulting winemaker Michael Cruse. Its generosity is balanced by tart, pithy grapefruit acidity, and the finish reveals a wealth of ocean spray and seashell mineral character, along with more pithy lemon and lime zest."

Score

94

Score

93

"The 2021 Chardonnay pours a medium straw color and jumps from the glass with sea spray, lime blossom, green apple candy, and delicate flinty lift. It™s medium-bodied but has a fantastic silky texture, with a hint of pineapple, Meyer lemon, and bread dough. It has a lovely viscosity and has freshness without harsh edges. Drink 2023-2033."

Score

93

"The 2022 Chardonnay Estate is open and generous with immediate appeal and drinkability. It features baked apple aromas laced with nuances of matchstick, roasted almonds, brioche and toast. The medium-bodied palate is silky and refreshing with highly concentrated fruit and a long, flavorful finish."

Score

16.5

"Highly scented " a nasal decongestant?! Very good, emphatic palate entry combined with great citrus freshness. Chalky finish. More of that grapefruit flavour."