2013 Aubert, Chardonnay Lauren, Sonoma Coast, Magnum (1.5L)

RP98+ "The 2013 Chardonnay Lauren Estate is made from 15-year-old vines from the old Wente and Mt. Eden clones of Chardonnay planted in Goldridge soils. This wine offers loads of nectarine, honeysuckle, liquefied rock, quince and white currants. The wine has incredible richness, no real evidence of any of the 100% new oak it is aged in, and a multi-dimensional, long finish. This compelling Chardonnay is still young and capable of lasting 10-15 years." RP Dec 2015
It sounds like a broken record, but Mark Aubert is certainly one of a handful of California’s finest practitioners of Burgundy-styled, classic California Chardonnays. He’s at the top of the pyramid for these extraordinary wines, and he’s not that far behind when it comes to Burgundian-styled, rich, impressive Pinot Noirs as well. Of course, he has his own winery, and continues to acquire high-quality, cool-climate sites for his Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, with Cix, Eastside, Lauren Estate and Sugar Shack Estate all now part of Aubert’s estate vineyards. Mark Aubert had an impressive resumé long before he became this famous, mentored by Helen Turley when he was at Peter Michael, and from there spending impressive tenures at Colgin and Tom Futo’s winery before he went off bound for glory. I am a big buyer of these wines every year, and often serve the wines to strangers at charity events. They are consistently the favorites that people taste. Published Dec 30, 2015