2013 Chardonnay Ellen Lane Estate

Paul Hobbs describes 2013 as a consistently warm, dry year but without excesses. I remember stopping by in January of that year, and being quite surprised when Hobbs told me he was likely to start irrigating imminently, which is highlyunusual. Then again, the drought was already causing stress in the vineyards. Overall, the 2014s have a touch more natural acidity and as well as more overall brightness and tension. New oak is up in the 2014s, but most wines appear to have the underlying material to support the oak and what is projected to be longer time in barrel. Most importantly, the 2014s show greater delineation of site than the 2013s.

I tasted a wide range of Chardonnays and Pinot Noir with Paul Hobbs and his winemaker Megan Baccitich. A number of the 2012 Chardonnays were quite reticent, which is unusual for the year. I am not sure if the bigger Chardonnays are just a bit closed at the moment, or if the search for richness and texture is pushed a bit too far. The Chardonnays see quite a bit of lees stirring, about weekly through the malolactic fermentations and then every two weeks until the wines are settled prior to bottling. Only time will tell. The 2013 Chardonnays are a bit more precise and delineated than the 2012s, which is hard to believe, as the harvest was a full ten days earlier. Similarly, the 2013 Pinots show greater energy and cut than the 2012s.