2010 Chardonnay Edward James Estate

Paul Hobbs’s 2010 Chardonnay Edward James Estate Wente Selection is fascinating to taste next to the Bato Selection from the same site. The weight and lushness of these Wente clones (sourced from Larry Hyde) comes through in the wine’s serious richness. A huge, voluptuous wine, the 2010 wraps around the palate with spherical fruit and a creamy, expressive finish. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020. It is always fascinating to sit down with Paul Hobbs and his winemaker Megan Baccitich, as these Chardonnays and Pinots run the gamut of styles, clones and sites in Sonoma. According to Hobbs, the 2010 harvest was two weeks later than normal, while 2011 was three weeks later than normal! One of the other main differences is that temperatures increased toward the end of 2010, but stayed very much on the cool side in 2011. My impression is that when all is said and done, vintage 2011 will turn out to be superior to 2010 for this range. As always, the Hobbs house style does a very nice job of capturing both textural richness and plenty of site specificity. Tel. (707) 824-9879

The 2010 Chardonnay Edward James Estate Wente Selection has a touch more delineation than the Bato Selection. Flowers, lemon, spices and subtle French oak wrap around the nicely articulated finish in this attractive, medium-bodied Chardonnay.