2018 Aubert - Chardonnay Napa Sugar Shack Estate (750ml)

Aubert is a Napa Valley story as much as a Sonoma one. Mark Aubert grew up in St. Helena. After working alongside Helen Turley, he became head winemaker at Peter Michael at just 28, and he later made the wines at Colgin. He and his wife Teresa launched Aubert in 1999 with a single-vineyard Chardonnay from the 2000 vintage. In 2010 they bought the former August Briggs winery on the Silverado Trail in Calistoga and remodeled it as their home base. Their estate vineyards now stretch from western Sonoma back to Napa’s Rutherford bench.

Sugar Shack is the winery’s seven-acre estate vineyard in the northwest corner of Rutherford. It is planted entirely to the Montrachet clone of Chardonnay, which Mark nicknames the “citrus circus clone,” and is farmed by renowned viticulturist David Abreu. Mark’s aim at this site is to show that warm-climate Napa Chardonnay can have the freshness and finesse of Sonoma. The wine is made with minimal intervention and may show a slight natural haze.

The 2018 opens with yellow orchard fruit, poached pear, pink grapefruit, and lime candy, plus hints of hay, ginger, and allspice. The full-bodied palate layers lemon oil, white peach preserves, and green apple with a touch of pecan pie and a flinty edge. Fresh acidity carries a long, toasty finish. The winery suggests it will keep developing for ten to fifteen years from release. Serve it with lobster in drawn butter, roast pork with apples, or a rich risotto.