2018 Hudson Ranch Chardonnay Ladybug
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Tasting notes
Notes of orange blossom, lemon peel, and exotic flowers define the 2018 Chardonnay Ladybug, which is named after winemaker Clayton Kirchhoff’s wife. Barrel fermented and aged 23 months in 80% new French oak, it’s another medium to full-bodied, rich yet lively Chardonnay from this estate that does everything right.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2018 Chardonnay Ladybug emerges from a parcel on the property with wider diurnal shifts, meaning warmer days and cooler nights. That yields a Chardonnay endowed with tons of intensity and volume. Lemon confit, hazelnut, pastry and tropical notes all build in the glass. The Ladybug is a bit reticent today, but a year or so in bottle should do the trick.
The 2018 Chardonnay Ladybug was aged for 23 months in French oak, 80% new. It soars out of the glass with vibrant scents of pink grapefruit, pineapple upside-down cake and passion fruit with lovely lemon drop, honeysuckle and mandarin peel hints plus a spicy touch of nutmeg. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is achingly silken, subtly nuanced and yet wonderfully intense, multilayered and long, long, long. Crazy good Chardonnay!