2020 Chardonnay Estate
Buying options
Tasting notes
Restrained nose but there is green-apple fruit, toasty complexity and a honeyed note too. The persistence moves into a hard-cheese sort of quality. Super-tangy with beautifully defined fruit and a lovely twist of sour citrus.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Aromas of pie crust dough, lightly cooked apple and white peach. Dried flower. Flinty. Mineral. Medium-bodied with creamy texture and citrusy at the end. Drink now.
The 2020 Chardonnay Estate is terrific and has classic Sta. Rita Hills character. Salted citrus, melon, white flowers, and a kiss of peach all emerge on the nose, and it’s medium-bodied, with a supple, elegant mouthfeel, outstanding balance, and a great finish. It’s well worth the price of admission and will keep for 4-6 years.
The 2020 Chardonnay Estate is bright, tense and sizzling with energy. Lemon peel, mint, white pepper and a gentle touch of new oak inform this gorgeous Chardonnay from The Hilt. There is plenty of tension, but more depth and therefore better balance, than in the 2019.
About the producer
The Hilt is the Santa Rita Hills project owned by sports and property mogul billionaire Stan Kroenke, who also owns Screaming Eagle in Napa Valley and the Jonata estate in the California’s Ballard Canyon AVA.