90 Points | International Wine Cellar , May/June 2013

(the Atlas Peak vines were hit hard by hail during set, leading to a tiny crop in 2011, according to winemaker Kale Anderson):  Bright yellow-green.  Subdued but slightly exotic aromas of mirabelle, pineapple and vanilla.  Ripe, supple and tropical in character; in a creamier, oakier style than the Sonoma Coast bottling but with nicely integrated acidity.  Finishes with a lightly phenolic quality and some spicy, resiny oak.  Winemaker Anderson expects to decrease the percentage of new oak used for Pahlmeyer's chardonnay and he may also block a percentage of the malolactic fermentation in the future.  (I should note that I also retasted the 2010 chardonnays with Anderson and was taken with the Napa Valley bottling, which combined tangy stone fruits with pineapple and saline elements and had harmonized rather dramatically since I reported on it a year ago.  Although nutty and broad, it's also quite chewy and fresh.  On this occasion I rated it 92 points.)

94 Points | Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate