2022 Chardonnay The Meadows

This is a very pretty set of Chardonnays from Stephen Hansel. The 2022s show the lighter style of the year. There’s a bit less site definition in the 2022s than in most years, and yet the wines are quite attractive. Hansel was among the producers who noted the greater availability of water in 2022 vis-à-vis 2021. As always, the wines offer a compelling mix of Russian River exuberance with modest oak influence and fine balance. There is a genuine quality to these wines that I find extremely appealing. I also tasted the 2022 Pinots in tank just prior to bottling. I find the Hansel wines hard to evaluate at that stage, and yet the 2022s showed better than some other recent vintages at a similar point in time. I will report on the 2022 Pinots as soon as I can taste them in finished form.