Well. Shit. What can ya say about a visit with Hardy to anyone who hasn’t? He’s wild as hell, he’s hilarious, he’s a wild cap who is un-apologetic about his forward progress of the valley and the wine world at large. He’s generous. He’s brilliant. Most of all he’s fun as hell.
We arrived at Sugarloaf late into this scorching week in Napa/Sonoma and Hardy did not skip a beat. He immediately welcomes you with his, always present, smile and glee and says come on down to flavor town
For any who have not visited Hardy at Sugarloaf, this facility is top notch and is curated to this occasion.
Without hesitation- GO
We start the tasting with our full family of the trip, for one of the first tastings back to Sugarloaf, with the Summer Salters Rose and the salinity with creaminess of that wine is wild. Next we moved to Brosseau Chard which has a touch of chenin and has mouth watering acid and perfect poise. Moving forward to So Good! Orange wine, which is made from old vine chenin and is, in our opinion, Hardy’s best orange wine to date. Following the whites, we moved to the Local Election Red, which is juicy, crunchy, acidic, gulpable and amazing as all Hardy’s wines are. Next, we had the Mighty High, which despite not being paired with one of my favorite Jerry Band songs, is exceptional and for those classic DnR fans, this feels like classic Hardy. Our final wine was the Yeah Camp #1, which demonstrates classic Hardy, but also the freshness of Yeah! that he really has perfected. This is a wine I’ll hold alongside Legends and Maple and Herve for 10 years before I pop the first of mine own. Marvelous.
Overall, I think what has been abundantly clear is that Hardy has upped his game to the next level. If you were close to liking DnR, then you will LOVE EWCY. If you liked DnR, then youre salivating for your next bottle of Yeah! wine.
Hardy is insanely generous insanely kind and just a gregarious human. What’s wild and super fun is that this is also so transparent in his wines. He said it best by saying, “I hope to cross Fun wine with Fine wine” and in that regard, he’s lights out on the new project.
If you arent a fan, you should likely become one.
My last comment is that this really, perfectly rounds out the Napa week for us. A visit with Hardy should almost be requisite. And, for us, it now is.
