Which Aubert Chardonnay are drinking well now

Hey gang,

I have been buying a lot of Aubert Chardonnay since the 2013 vintage and was wondering which vintage and vineyards are approachable today. I tried a sample of 13 and 14 and some of them where still somewhat closed (albeit delicious).

Any input from the community would help!

Cheers!

JF

Amazingly, the 17s are beautiful! (see all the comments on CT). Otherwise 09 & 10 have reached peak IMHO.

2 recent '14s were drinking beautifully
a sonoma coast and a uvsl btw

They’re all drinking well. If closed, suggest you decant.

Nine to Ninety,crippled, crazy or blind !
I like them all, Now or later !

+1

Agreed! Had the 2014 Ritchie, Larry Hyde, and Eastside a few weeks back and they were all drinking really, really well but should hold for quite a while.

Is the suggestion that these don’t have much of a
Shutdown phase?

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

JF

I have enjoyed Aubert Chards anywhere from 2 to 9 years of age without noticing any “closed” phase. That experience doesn’t mean it does not occur but should indicate it might be a rare circumstance. IIMHO

Hi JF—Note from Jay Hack’s extravaganza a couple months ago as part of a Ritchie mini-horizontal:

2012 Aubert Ritchie Chard

This was the host’s contribution to my mini-horizontal (there are at least 15 wineries that pull fruit for their Chard from here). Still some oak hanging on, butterscotch mixes with some unripe orange. Still ripe and biggish to taste, but creamy in the midpalate with orange and lacing of sour cream. Not sure if it may change with 2 or 3 more years, might be interesting to try in 2022.

A couple WineFests ago, I did a full vertical of Ritchie from 02 to 09. The 02, 10 years out, was drinking more like a Chevalier Montrachet than a Cali Chard. I was pretty stunned and so were the rest of the tasters. Ergo, I wouldn’t be worried about cellaring his wines for a decade.

A bientot

Mike

Thanks. From what I gather I should probably decant them if they are on the young side.

Thanks!

JF

I find the 2014 Lauren one of the finest wines ever made in the United States and drinking very well now.