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2005 Vintage

94    Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, December 2007, Issue 174
Offering copious amounts of orange marmalade, smoky hazelnuts, and tropical fruits, the full-bodied, rich 2005 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is on a faster evolutionary track than the Hyde Vineyard. Drink the Hudson cuvée over the next 2-3 years.

91    California Grapevine, Vol. 32, No. 6, Dec 2006-Jan 2007, p. 110
Medium-light to medium golden yellow; attractive, forward, intense, toasty, slightly tropical, baked apple aroma with hints of orange zest and butterscotch; full body; forward, rich, lemony, nutty, spicy baked apple flavors with good depth and showing some complexity; well balanced and structured; lingering aftertaste. Enjoyable to drink now though deserves several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

2004 Vintage

91    Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate 12-22-06
The 2004 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard seems to be on a faster evolutionary track than the other wines. Light gold in color with notes of marmalade, smoky hazelnuts, and tropical fruit, and a lusty, rich, full-bodied palate that offers delicious drinking now, it should age well for several more years.

94    Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 076
Bright yellow with a green hint. Powerful, deeply concentrated and smoky on the nose, with strong, iodine-accented pear, yellow apple and nectarine aromas. Incredibly concentrated pear and pit fruit flavors are complicated by a wild cured meat accent and strong mineral tones. The iodine note comes up strong on the finish, along with notes of lees, licorice and sweet butter. This has depth and persistence to burn, with a seemingly endless finish. For a wine of this quality, it's an absolute steal. Ramey advises holding it for at least ten years, noting that the 2001 is just starting to come into maturity.

91    California Grapevine, Vol. 32, No. 6, Dec 2006-Jan 2007, p. 110
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, intense, spicy, apple and pear aroma with notes of toasted hazelnut and vanilla; full body; rich, intense, spiced apple and lemon flavors; well balanced and structured; slightly tart on the finish; lingering aftertaste. Oak seemed a bit more prominent in this wine compared to their Hyde Vineyard bottling. Needs several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

2003 Vintage

92    Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate 12-26-05, Issue 162
This is always the most evolved cuvee. It exhibits notes of tropical fruits lemons, oranges, and tangerines, medium to full body, and a lusty, heady, extroverted style that is unmistakably California in orientation.

94   Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2006
Pale yellow-green color. Wonderfully complex nose offers lime, peach, iodine, minerals, vanilla cream, truffle, smoke, hazelnut and earth. Sweet and lush yet light on its feet; this is actually the lowest in residual sugar of these vineyard-designated chardonnays, though all of them are under one gram per liter. Intriguing notes of biscuit and caramel. Saline and soil-inflected wine, with a long, chewy finish.

90    California Grapevine, Vol. 32, No. 2, April-May 2006, p. 33
Medium-light golden yellow; earthy, spicy, baked apple aroma with a note of cinnamon; tight, crisp lemony, green apple flavors with firm acidity; full body; somewhat hard and harsh on the finish; lingering aftertaste. Developed with airing in the glass though could use another year or two of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

2002 Vintage

92 (+?)   Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2005
Bright yellow. Lower-toned aromas of iodine, minerals and smoke. Fat, dense and rich, but less showy today than the Hyde and not yet showing the lift of that bottling. But this layered wine is in a mute stage today.

91    California Grapevine, Vol. 30, No. 6, Dec 2004-Jan 2005, p. 114
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, intense, toasty, buttery, ripe pear aroma with notes of toasted hazelnut; full body; crisp, lemony, pear and green apple flavors with good depth; well balanced and structured; slightly harsh on the finish with a hint of bitterness; lingering aftertaste. Deserves another year or two of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

91    Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate 02-28-05, Issue 157
The 2002 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard reveals beautiful fruit, an alluring minerality, crisp lemon oil, orange blossom, and honeysuckle characteristics, full body, and plenty of concentration.

Four stars    Ronn Wiegand’s Restaurant Wine, Vol. 17, No. 1
One of the best Chardonnays of the vintage. The Hudson is round and full bodied; a medium intense Chardonnay, which is fleshy and long on the palate, and tastes of cherimoya, roasted nut, vanilla, oak, and pineapple.

89 (one puff)    Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine, March 2005
This marginally lighter Chardonnay is gifted with plenty of forward apple and citrus-like fruitiness and is dressed up with a good bit of creamy oak. It is a wee bit less weighty and is brightened by lots of fruity acidity, and if a bit too rich to consider for service with simple shellfish dishes, it is sure to shine with teamed with sundry richly-sauced seafoods or paired with similarly prepared chicken entrees over the next two or three years.

2001 Vintage

95 (three puffs)   Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine, Dec. 2003
Gorgeous oak serves as a constant counterpoint to the intense ripe apple themes that drive this captivating wine, and while quite rich in every respect, the wine is also carefully composed, neatly balanced and never close to being overblown. It tends to a bit to firmness is the latter going, but its persistent citrusy ending suggests that increased complexity and further expansion will await those whose exercise a few more years of patience before pulling its cork.

94    Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Issue 112, Jan/Feb 2004
Exotic aromas of apple, pineapple, coconut, iodine and baking spices.  Powerful and penetrating, with a dusty impression of extract; still some CO2 to be absorbed. This, too, offers superb inner-palate energy and precision and an even bigger finish than the Hyde wine, with real palate-staining persistence.

93   Robert M. Parker, Jr’s The Wine Advocate, 12-23-03, Issue 150
A blockbuster California Chardonnay in all senses of the word, the 20001 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard may have been vinified and raised like a Burgundy, but this is all-American stuff.  Loads of tropical fruit, lemon and orange liqueur characteristics, huge body, and big, yeasty brioche notes all make for a stunningly proportioned, dazzlingly example of full-flavored, pedal-to-the-metal Chardonnay.  There are 1,050 cases of this head-spinning sexpot.  Drink it over the next several years.

92    California Grapevine, Vol. 29, No. 6, Dec 2003-Jan 2004, p. 110
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, complex, spicy, tropical fruit aroma with hint of ginger; full body; forward, fresh, youthful, earthy, lemony, green apple and tropical fruit flavors; well balanced and structured; lingering aftertaste. Deserves several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

Four+ stars    Ronn Wiegand’s Restaurant Wine, Issue # 98, p. 18
Once again Ramey has produced two of the top Chardonnays of the vintage. The Hudson Vineyard is full bodied and firmer in style than the Hyde; a wonderful Chardonnay in its own right, tasting of citrus fruit, vanilla, toasted oak, and crème caramel.