2020 Bootlegger’s Hill Chardonnay
94 points
Jeb Dunnuck
From one of the coolest sites we work with on a high ridge just east of the town of Occidental. The nose shows lemon citrus zest, Honeysuckle, spicy carnation, cardamom-clove, fresh peach, and green apple along with a toasty yeast note. The palate is driven by mineral-laced acidity, crisp and dry, while maintaining an oily richness that is beguilingly dense and lingering before the profound acidity clears the way for the next sip.
The year began with a very dry winter, leaving some vineyards with reduced water for the growing season. This translated into smaller berries, adding extra intensity to the aromas and flavors of the 2020 wines. The harvest at Patz & Hall wrapped up in late September, making it the earliest end of picking in my 30+ years of winemaking. Though 2020 produced record small yields, the quality was remarkable, with most vineyards producing wines of depth, intensity, and dramatic concentration. The Chardonnays are showing intricate aromatics and deep flavors while the Pinot Noirs show very dark and concentrated flavors with developed tannins. Overall, I’m very pleased with the strength and vitality of the 2020 wines and believe they have a long life ahead in the cellar.
Planted in 2007 by renowned winegrower Charlie Chenoweth, this is the growing into one of the finest single vineyard Chardonnays in the Patz & Hall portfolio. Situated eight miles from the chilly Pacific Ocean, Bootlegger’s Hill is a very cool site, with shallow Goldridge soils that produce low yields of very small-berried clusters with high acidity. This wine was made entirely from a prized west-facing block of Hyde-Wente clone Chardonnay grown on 420A rootstock.
100% Whole-cluster pressed
100% malo-lactic fermentation in barrel
100% Burgundian French oak barrels (30% new; 70% 1-2-year old). All 3-year aged staves
Bottled without filtration to preserve the wine’s aromas and flavors and enhance aging potential
This wine is Vegan
- Type:
- White
- Varietal:
- Chardonnay
- Region:
- California
- Appellation:
- Russian River Valley
- Vintage:
- 2020
- Blend:
- 100% Chardonnay fruit
- Aging:
- Sur lie aged with regular stirring. Aged 16 months on primary lees before bottling
- Alcohol:
- 13.5%
- Fermentation:
- 100% indigenous yeast fermentations