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98+ RP. "[No tasting note given.] Mark Aubert is one of the contenders for California’s finest practitioner of Burgundian-styled, yet classic, California Chardonnays. His offerings are all made like grand cru Burgundies with full malolactic, the use of French oak and lees stirring, but the purity of fruit, the textural dimensions, and the stunning singularity of these Chardonnays can only be matched by a handful of other Chardonnay producers in the world. He’s that good. Aubert’s 2012s, which I have enjoyed multiple times out of bottle since I purchased most of them, merit the scores I gave them last year. Those include the 2012 Chardonnay Cix Estate (99), 2012 Chardonnay East Side (99), 2012 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons (96), 2012 Chardonnay Lauren Estate (98+), 2012 Chardonnay Ritchie (95), 2012 Chardonnay Sugar Shack Estate (99), and 2012 Chardonnay UV-SL (96). The 2013 Chardonnays are going to be as extraordinary in quality. Aubert told me they fermented slower than in 2012, and the harvest was earlier in 2013. Despite the fact that the 2013s appear to be crisper with lower pHs, they are still extremely powerful . . ." eRobertParker.com #216, Dec 2014 |