2014 Stomping Girl Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard 750 ml

Re-Opening the Door to Hyde Vineyard

Two months ago, when we offered Wine Access clients a few keenly priced bottles from what is arguably California’s greatest Grand Cru Chardonnay vineyard, our small allocation of the 2013 Stomping Girl Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay sold out in just under four hours—that’s close to the record. Today we’re bracing ourselves for another mad dash.

The team at Stomping Girl was so impressed with the response to the 2013 that they have graciously re-opened the cellar to offer Wine Access clients another exclusive library release—the stunning 2014 Stomping Girl Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard. We don’t have to tell you how exciting this is. It’s exceedingly rare to find a bottle of Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay for under-$50, with most of the production reserved for heavy hitters like Kistler, Aubert, and Ramey. But to find one for $17.99 per bottle? Unheard of, except when you’ve got the winery on your side.

Bearing the unmistakable signature of Hyde Vineyard—intense, lush, mineral—without the typical Hyde price tag, the 2014 Stomping Girl is an absolute steal at 59% off. Don’t bother with less than a case.

Founded in 1979, famed Hyde Vineyards is set on gently rolling hills on the Napa side of chilly Carneros. The vineyard blueprint is ingenious, offering each Chardonnay plant optimal southeastern exposure. The soils are poor—meaning vines have to first snake through three feet deep to reach an impenetrable layer of clay subsoil, where they must burrow harder and deeper for nutrients. The vineyard work here is rigorous—each cluster carefully aerated on the vine, providing for succulent, golden berries of luscious juiciness and fine acid backbone.

In most cases, wineries have to wait years to get their hands on Hyde’s prized fruit—that is, if they can get it at all—but it just so happened that the proprietors of Stomping Girl Wines, had an in. One day, while walking the vines of Beresini Vineyard with owner Steve Beresini, the proprietors asked him if he knew of a place to find great Chardonnay. Steve, as it turned out, had been friends with the great Larry Hyde since high school. Having seen the great care that they took in making Pinot Noir from his vines, Beresini knew they were perfect candidates for Hyde fruit. Beresini made one call, and as they say, the rest was history.

The 2014 Stomping Girl Chardonnay was hand-harvested from Hyde Vineyard under the cover of darkness to maintain maximum freshness in the grapes. Aged in French oak barrels for 11 months, the wine is at once creamy and richly textured while vibrant and crisp, offering an enticing blend of fresh mango and pineapple flavors accented by anise, shaved coconut, and buttercream. Given the response to the 2013, we know that 85 cases of the 2014 will go quickly. Will the 2014 break the four-hour sellout mark of its older sibling? We wouldn’t wait around to see.