Wine Advisor
DuMOL, Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay 2020
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Erin Brooks
The 2020 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard offers stunning transparency, with the volume turned up on aromatic detail and structural harmony. It opens with characteristic matchstick and flint that slowly unfolds to scents of white peach, lemon peel, crushed shell and dried chamomile. The palate is seamless, satiny and highly concentrated yet youthfully coiled, with a tensile core of preserved citrus. It has a long, mineral-driven finish that hints at the floral perfume and savory nuances yet to emerge. Curious about that matchstick character, I drank from this open bottle for five days as it opened and expanded in expression—it's going to be long lived in the cellar. Winemaker Andy Smith says this may be the earliest pick ever of Hyde—these Chardonnay grapes were harvested just two days after the wildfires began, on August 20th. Typically around 36 barrels are made; in 2020, only 20 barrels were made.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2020 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is an attractive wine for the year. Readers won't find too many Hyde signatures here, and the wine is lacking depth as well as resonance, but on the other hand it is clean and impeccably balanced, which is about as good as it gets for 2020.
About the Producer
DuMOL is a renowned California-based winery that has been crafting exceptional Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah wines since its inception in 1996. Founded by rooted local viticulturist and winemaker Andy Smith, DuMOL sources fruit from some of the most esteemed vineyard sites in Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and beyond. Through meticulous, sustainable farming and minimalist winemaking, Smith captures the essence of each unique terroir in the DuMOL portfolio. The wines consistently impress with their elegance, intensity, and age-worthiness, establishing DuMOL as one of California's premier boutique producers of Burgundian-inspired varietals.
