James had many productive and insightful tastings and interviews with winemakers from Napa Valley over Zoom in preparation for his Napa report which you can read here. One important one was with Mark Aubert who arguably makes some of the best chardonnay in America now. The Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard 2017 was the No. 2 wine in our list of Top 100 Wines of the United States 2020 and is on par with some of the top chardonnays in the world, including the most coveted bottles from Burgundy. All his wines are on allocation.
Aubert Wines produces great chardonnay and pinot noir wines from Napa and Sonoma, and Mark is the owner and winemaker. He grew up in Napa Valley and he started his career in 1989 as an assistant winemaker at Peter Michael. Mark's wines have a focused balance of flavor and purity - the essence of his wine is rooted in his relationship with the land. Watch the video to hear James and Mark discuss the 2018 vintage, the phenomenal quality of Napa chardonnay, and more.
Below are the wines tasted during the call. Click the links to see the tasting notes and scores (subscribers only).
Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast Lauren Estate 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Hudson Vineyard 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Russian River Valley Eastside Vineyard 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast CIX Estate 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Sonoma Coast UV-SL 2018
Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma County Powder House Estate 2018
