2009 Chardonnay Ulises Valdez Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2009 Chardonnay Ulises Valdez Vineyard is big, bold and beautiful. The explosiveness of these Wente clones comes through loud and clear. Layers of fruit build effortlessly towards a textured finish laced with smoke, licorice, honey and butter.
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Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Chardonnay Ulises Valdez Vineyard is big, bold and beautiful. The explosiveness of these Wente clones comes through loud and clear. Layers of fruit build effortlessly towards a textured finish laced with smoke, licorice, honey and butter. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. This is a dazzling set of Chardonnays and Pinots from Paul Hobbs. The wines are made with native primary and secondary fermentations, aged on their lees and bottled without fining of filtration. Readers may want to check out my video interview with Paul Hobbs on www.eroberparker.com for more details. Vintages 2009 and 2010 are both strong, but I find myself favoring the 2010s for their greater verve and focus. Either way, it is virtually impossible to go wrong with any of these new and upcoming releases. Tel. (707) 824-9879
Bright yellow-gold. Pungent, mineral-accented aromas of pear skin, lemon rind, smoky lees and baking spices, plus an intriguing iodine quality that reminded me of serious Burgundy. Pliant orchard fruit and citrus flavors are complicated by smoke, juniper and minerals, with a note of anise emerging on the back half. Very suave, deeply pitched chardonnay with excellent finishing delineation and power.
About the producer
Paul Hobbs is one of California wine’s biggest names. Twice named Wine Personality of the Year by Robert Parker, he joined Robert Mondavi in 1977, worked at Opus One and Simi before setting up his eponymous winery in 1991.