*Chardonnay CIX Estate - 100 points*
Once again, the 2021 Chardonnay CIX Estate finds Mark Aubert as his most brilliant. Explosive and racy to the core, the CIX possesses superb density and textural resonance from start to finish. The only problem with the 2021 is that it is way too young to be at its best. This is all class. 2026-2033
*Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard - 96 points*
The 2021 Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard is ample, rich and explosive, with tons of tropical character and to play off its resonant personality. Orange peel, spice, butter, passion fruit and a kiss of French oak fill out the layers. What a gorgeous and complete wine this is. Bright saline notes extend the finish effortlessly. 2025-2033.
*Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard - 96 points*
The 2021 Chardonnay Larry Hyde and Sons Vineyard is stunning, Bright, vibrant and explosive, the 2021 Hyde is fabulous. Crushed rocks, mint, white pepper, pear, lime and jasmine all race out of the glass. This chiseled, sculpted Chardonnay shows just how magical the 2021 vintage is. This is one of the most refined Hyde Chardonnays I have tasted from Mark Aubert. 2025-2033
*Chardonnay Powder House - 95+ points*
The 2021 Chardonnay Powder House was quite closed when I tasted it from tank just prior to bottling. It comes across pretty much the same today. Readers are best advised to wait, or to at least give this a healthy decant. Pear, lemon peel, white flowers and crushed rocks open gradually, but the Powder House is in no mood to show its cards today. 2025-2033.
*Chardonnay Sugar Shack - 95 points*
The 2021 Chardonnay Sugar Shack offers all the natural intensity that is typical of this site, but in this vintage, married to tons of citrus and saline-driven energy. The Sugar Shack is not one of the most obvious wines in this range, but it exudes persistence, tension and class. There's real textural depth and presence here. 2025-2033.
*Chardonnay UV-SL - 97 points*
The 2021 Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard is a beguiling, complete wine. Floral notes mixed with hints of reduction, orchard fruit and citrus lend character to a wonderfully complex and complete wine. All the elements are so well balanced. The 2021 is sublime in the way it marries richness with lightness. 2025-2033
*Chardonnay CIX Estate - 96-98 points
From a vineyard that borders the source of Aubert's Lauren bottling, there are 1,200 cases of the 2021 Chardonnay CIX Estate. Matured in 75% new French oak, this review is based on a tank sample awaiting bottling. Planted to a Montrachet selection in 2008, there's just a hint of fumé character, those smoky, mocha notes accenting ripe peaches and bright lime pith. It's characteristically full-bodied, generous, creamy and lush, yet with enough acidity to keep it clean and fresh on the finish. 2023-2035
*Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard - 95-97 points
From a somewhat warmer site on thin, volcanic soils overlooking the Russian River, Eastside—originally a collaboration between Ulises Valdez and Mark Aubert—features a Montrachet selection planted on riparia rootstock. Despite plenty of new French oak in the élevage, there's only a faintly fumé, crushed-stone character on the nose, which nicely sets off the wine's white peach and lime notes. Full-bodied and generous but sturdily built, with an imposing structure, the 2021 Chardonnay Eastside is powerful and long on the finish. The crop was virtually wiped out by a spring frost in 2020, but the vines rebounded in 2021, yielding 1,400 cases. 2023-2033
*Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard - 94-96 points
The coolest of Aubert's Chardonnay sites, the 2021 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons boasts lovely aromas reminiscent of melon, citrus curd and lime zest. It's full-bodied and creamy, with a silky, custardy mouthfeel and tremendous length. 2023-2030
*Chardonnay Powder House - 95-97 points
Floral, non-fruity hints of crushed stone and talcum powder appear on the nose of Aubert's 2021 Chardonnay Powder House, creating an attractive counterpoint to the wine's honeyed richness and intense white-peach notes. Full-bodied and silky in feel, it's a bit custardy in texture yet lithe, graceful and long, with an almost mentholated finish. There are 2,000 cases this vintage, from a Forestville vineyard planted in 2015 mainly to Hyde Old Wente, plus a bit of Mount Eden. 2023-2035
*Chardonnay Sugar Shack - 93-95 points
The warmest site in Aubert's portfolio, the 2021 Chardonnay Sugar Shack comes from Mark and Teresa's home property on the western side of the Rutherford AVA. Planted in 2008 to a Montrachet selection and managed by David Abreu, it offers up attractive aromas of toasted hazelnuts and ripe peaches. Big, broad and fleshy in the mouth, it turns a bit angular on the finish, providing a bright, fresh counterpoint to the earlier opulence. 700 cases produced. 2023-2035
*Chardonnay UV-SL - 96-98 points
The 2021 Chardonnay UV-SL comes from largely Goldridge soils in parcels owned and managed by the Valdez family (UV being the initials of Ulises Valdez, Aubert's frequent vineyard collaborator, who died in 2018). There are 2,000 cases of this elixir, which offers up classic notes of toasted hazelnuts, white peaches and citrus zest. It's full-bodied, rich and opulent yet contained and controlled, with great silky length and energy. Aubert describes the oak thusly: "The oak is perfect. It just kisses you with a bit of vanilla and cookie dough." The wine is certainly delicious, and thinking back on it, I wonder if my rating is a bit conservative. 2023-2035
