2011 Chardonnay Edward James Estate
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Tasting notes
The 2011 Chardonnay Edward James Estate is deep, powerful and intense to the core. Smoke, nectarine and pastry notes add complexity on the broad-shouldered finish as the Edward James shows off its huge fruit and voluptuous personality. The low yields of the vintage and the inherent richness of this Hyde selection of the Wente clone give the 2011 much of its texture.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
From the Old Wente and Hyde clones of Chardonnay planted in the Goldridge soils that surround the Hobbs winery, the 2011 Chardonnay Edward James Estate possesses a light gold color, good acidity, and hints of tropical fruits, white currants and peaches, with the oak pushed to the background. This fresh, delicious, successful 2011 should drink well for 2-3 years. Paul Hobbs has built quite an empire, both as a worldwide respected wine consultant and as the owner of his winery in Sonoma Valley. I reviewed his Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon cuvees in Issue 209, and on this visit I tasted through his 2011 and 2012 Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs as well as a few Syrahs. His wines consistently hit all the high notes, and Hobbs continues to be a serious talent. I particularly enjoy his Cross Barn, inexpensive Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The 2011 Chardonnays range from tiny productions of 138 cases for the Ulises Valdez to 3,600 for the Russian River Chardonnay. The 2012s all reveal the tremendous up-front fruit characteristics of this year along with surprisingly high average alcohols, and good fresh acids. Paul Hobbs has introduced two Cross Barn Pinot Noir cuvees, one from the Sonoma Coast and one from Anderson Valley. These wines use a tiny bit of stems during their fermentations, and spend four months in barrel, 15% of which is new. Tasting through these same cuvees in 2012 demonstrated just how gorgeous this vintage is across the board in Northern California. Tel. (707) 824-9879
The 2011 Chardonnay Edward James Estate is another highly attractive wine. Nuanced, layered and beautiful, the Edward James is a wine of considerable potential. Sweet floral and spice notes meld into subtle fruit in a wine that is all about subtlety. In 2011, Hobbs did not make his two clonal selection wines from this site, as he did in 2010.
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.