2018 The Hilt Chardonnay Vanguard
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Tasting notes
The 2018 Chardonnay Vanguard has terrific textbook Chardonnay notes of spiced orchard fruits, toasted bread, green apple, and white flowers. This flows to a medium-bodied, racy Chardonnay with fabulous fruit and length. It's going to hit prime time in a year or two.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Chardonnay Vanguard opens with a burst of sweet floral notes, mint and just a kiss of new French oak. It is the Vanguard after all, and the style of this wine always leans towards the richer end of the spectrum. In the glass, the Vanguard is taut yet also has quite a bit of richness to balance things out. The 2018 needs a few years in bottle to fully come together, but it is clearly a wonderful wine in the making.
About the producer
The Hilt is the Santa Rita Hills project owned by sports and property mogul billionaire Stan Kroenke, who also owns Screaming Eagle in Napa Valley and the Jonata estate in the California’s Ballard Canyon AVA.