Given my appreciation of Hannes' touch with Chardonnay in a restrained, leaner, elegant style, I was excited to try this single vineyard wine, new to their lineup. It appears that John (Fucking) Caldwell only grows about 4.5 acres of Chardonnay, planted to two clones.
At this point in its evolution, it has a rather reserved nose, not giving a whole lot. It has slight whiffs of tangerine, apricot and peach with briny sea air and minerality. It's far more expressive on the palate, with luscious, yet balanced fruit. It exhibits flavors of perfectly ripe tangerine, Cara Cara orange, white peach, Meyer lemon and even hints of finger lime with delightfully balancing acid and flecks of minerality with mere hints of toasted almond.
Not only in California terms, but in a worldwide scale, it's a wonderfully structured and balanced wine. I'd stack this blind against any great bottlings from Australia or Montrachet and even, dare I say Corton Charlemagne. It's not a cheap expression, but compared with its "contemporaries", it's a relative value and well worth seeking out if you appreciate the finer expressions of this grape.
