Chardonnay Powder House Estate

Mark Aubert has been investing in his own vineyards for years, as this is the final, important step towards total control of viticulture and therefore the perfect wine. The terrain of this vineyard, which winds like a horseshoe, is located on the Sonoma Coast, in the small town of Forestville, right next to a former gunpowder store, the Poder House. 2020 was a rather late budding year, with a cool growing season even for Sonoma and a golden fall. The grapes grew slowly, without any hot days, to perfect phenolic ripeness, preserving a great natural freshness along the way. The result is a complex wine that smells beguilingly of those thick-skinned Amalfi lemons. Ginger is also present. Super interesting, isn't it? The wine flows into the palate with the usual Aubert pressure and is initially somewhat reserved, then wonderfully transparent, balanced and pointed with a juicy, mineral, almost chalky, endlessly long finish.