($65) Medium yellow-green. Complex nose melds lime, pineapple, crushed stone and menthol. Smooth, fresh and fruity, with a captivating sugar/acid balance and terrific snap. Very young and densely packed chardonnay, with complex notes of apricot, citrus zest and nut oil. Offers terrific life in the mouth. This has the structure of a top white Burgundy. Like the Hudson bottling, this wine may ultimately merit an even higher score. "Both Hyde and Hudson are a little less dramatic in their youth in 2003 than in 2002, which is a good thing," notes Kistler.

Professional content appears courtesy of Vinfolio

From the vineyard surrounding the winery, the 2003 Chardonnay Vine Hill looks to be one of the candidates for the Chardonnay of the vintage. Truly profound stuff, with a stunning nose of tangerines, orange marmalade, and lemon custard, this layered, full-bodied wine has superb purity, striking minerality, and builds incrementally in the mouth, finishing with rather high-toned flavors that are buttressed by good, crisp acidity. It is a prodigious Chardonnay and comes across like a California version of Chevalier-Montrachet. This wine is young and unevolved, and I suspect it will hit its prime in 1-3 years and last for up to a decade.

Professional content appears courtesy of Vinfolio

Intense and marked by rich, smoky hazelnut flavors from oak, with baked pear and earthy fig flavors that pick up a cedary oak edge on the finish. Drink now. 2,742 cases made.

Professional content appears courtesy of Vinfolio

Excellent!