WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
The Chardonnay is whole-cluster pressed into French oak for fermentation. The malolactic fermentation can last into the following spring. Cuvee Alyce is a barrel selection of the most concentrated barrels from all of the Hansel Estate Vineyard sites.
TASTING NOTES:
The 2022 Chardonnay Cuvee Alyce is a blend of Hyde, Hudson and 95 clones. It is also the richest and deepest of these Chardonnays from Hansel. Burnt sugar, lemon confit, marzipan, tangerine oil and vanillin are nicely pushed forward. This is an especially understated vintage of Alyce.
- Vinous, 93 pts.
Named after his Stephen Hansel’s mom, the 2022 Chardonnay Cuvee Alyce is the top of the range for the Chardonnays and comes from the highest elevation site on the ranch. Made from the clones Hyde Wente, Huxon Wente, and Dijon 95, in the glass it displays a ripe golden yellow hue and is more focused, with ripe notes of flint, baked golden apples, lemon curd, toasted cedar, and wet stones. Full-bodied, it offers a creamy, luxuriously rounded texture, with a clean finish and a touch of hazelnut through the palate.
- Jeb Dunnuck, 92 pts.
