Just across the creek from our “Hill” block at the Green Acres Vineyard, lies another excellent yet entirely different parcel planted to the Hyde Clone of Chardonnay. While most of this block (new for EK in 2014) goes into our 1 km west Sonoma Coast bottling, we couldn’t resist pairing our favorite barrels with a very special “Hill” barrel for our first Barrel Climber Chardonnay since the 2010 vintage. Seriously, it’s just too dang delicious.
The Hyde clone is coveted for its ability to retain excellent acidity, even when harvested on the riper side, and this wine displays its racy zip throughout. One serendipitous day during our blending trials, we tried adding 25% “Hill” Chardonnay from a proprietary new barrel by one of our favorite French coopers and the resulting wine was a show stopper of monumental proportions!
Fuller and more dramatic than its vivacious Sonoma Coast sibling, it bursts with pear, green apple and quince on the nose leading to honeydew, crème brûlée and a touch of raw honey. An intriguing element of fresh cream and an impression of stony salinity pleasantly complete the rich, textural mouth feel, all the while remaining fresh and mouthwatering with a tremendously long finish. A barrel-select, micro cuvée if ever there was one, only 45 cases of this amazing wine were bottled.
DRINKING WINDOWS
Prime drinking: late 2017 through 2021 Graceful ageability: 2022-2024
VINEYARDS
75% Green Acres Hyde Block, 25% Green Acres Hill Block
CLONES
75% Hyde, 25% Old Wente
STATS
pH: 3.38 | TA: 7.0 g/L | Alcohol: 14.1% Bottling: November 23, 2015 | Release: Fall 2016 Cases Produced: 45
Direct sales are allocated exclusively to EK Allocation List members at a 10% discount. Orders of 6+ bottles save an additional 50% off shipping. New releases ship twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. Join EK Allocation List
CUSTOMIZED ALLOCATIONS
You may customize your spring and fall allocations any way you like, from 0–12 bottles of each wine. (Small-lot and list-only wines will have lower limits.) To modify your allocations, click on MY ALLOCATION above. Join EK Allocation List
REORDERS
Wines often sell out at or close to release, so we encourage making the most of your spring and fall allocations. As long as wine remains, you are welcome to reorder online through our EK Special Order store. Or contact John Gillis at john@erickentwines.com or 415.244.9453.
sonoma county
