2014 Chardonnay Cuvee Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard
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Tasting notes
From a site on Sonoma Mountain, the 2014 Chardonnay Cuvée Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard expresses all the signatures of the Paul Hobbs style. Ample and creamy, with a real sense of mountain structure, the Agustina possesses striking depth and intensity from the naturally low yields on this site. Dried pear, brioche, sage and wild flowers shape this deep, layered Chardonnay.
Critic scores
Average Score
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
The 2014 Chardonnay Cuvee Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard is a little mute at the moment with ripe peaches, exotic spices and ginger over a tropical core of pineapples and guava, with wafts of brioche and aniseed. The palate is full-on rich and buxom, with a little cedar peeking through the densely packed tropical fruits and savory layers, supported by a lively backbone and finishing epically with minerals.
The two 2014 cuvées from the Richard Dinner Vineyard are both full-throttle Chardonnays, with the Cuvée Agustina just bigger, denser, richer and, to my taste, even superior to the 2013 version. Both should drink well for 7-10 years.
Quite unusually, the Chardonnay Cuvée Agustina Richard Dinner Vineyard shows quite a bit more tension and overall brightness than the straight Richard Dinner Chardonnay. Long and persistent on the palate, the Cuvée Agustina offers tons of potential, with expressive apricot jam, orange blossom and sweet floral notes that wrap around the finish.
About the producer
Paul Hobbs is one of California wine’s biggest names. Twice named Wine Personality of the Year by Robert Parker, he joined Robert Mondavi in 1977, worked at Opus One and Simi before setting up his eponymous winery in 1991.