97pts James Suckling
This is a fantastic chardonnay with sliced green-apple, cooked-apple, nougat and slate aromas. Some dried chili, too. Medium-bodied palate that grows full and tangy, with a vibrant finish of candied lemons and sliced limes. Salty and intense. Unique. Drink or hold.
95pts Jeb Dunnuck
Even better, the 2019 Chardonnay Bentrock Vineyard boasts a thrilling, richer, medium to full-bodied style that shows winemaker Matt Dees’ vibrant, chiseled style while still bringing ample fruit. White peach, caramelized orchard fruits, toasted almonds and spice emerge on the nose, and it has a Chablis on steroids-like style that will evolve gracefully for a decade.
95pts Decanter
This spectacular Chardonnay from The Hilt's Bentrock Vineyard delivers pinpoint balance between ripe fruit ('the refrigerated sunshine' winemaker Matt Dees refers to) and bright energy. Delicate oyster-shell minerality on the nose conjures the nearby ocean, while lemon blossom aromas give way to white stone fruit. The fruit flavours are grounded in the region's green citrus, but are joined by apple and nectarine. The palate is lush and taut at once, with structure aided by gorgeous acidity, and. herbal notes lingering on a textured finish.
95pts Vinous
The 2019 Chardonnay Bentrock opens with super-expressive aromatics. Chalk, white pepper, mint, lemon peels and slate race out of the glass. The 2019 exudes tremendous aromatic and vertical energy. There is a touch of reduction, but not enough to be a distraction. The Bentrock is a Chardonnay of tremendous distinction and personality.
About The Hilt Single Vineyard Expressions
The vineyard-designated wines represent the distinct voices of Radian, Bentrock and Puerta del Mar. They are singular, incredibly specific, focused expressions of each parcel of land. They express the very essence and nature of where the grapes are grown at our estate only a few miles from the cold Pacific Ocean. Bentrock is our vineyard of long, rolling hills and parcels that are protected from the rough maritime winds. Soils are poor and the temperature changes quickly from cold to warm. The wines are complex and opulent. Radian is our breathtaking high-altitude vineyard where whipping winds and diatomaceous earth-based soils predominate. The yields are tiny offering intensely concentrated and laser focused wines. Puerta del Mar is the home of our winery and the western-most point of our estate. A wild and windy vineyard that offers us wines with complexity and charm. These are ultimate wines of terroir.
Winemaker's Notes
Like a golden peach at prime ripeness drizzled with truffle honey. Classic Bentrock notes of apricot brioche, chamomile, and candied grapefruit peel. Notes of ginger, sweet corn, and a floral note reminiscent of honeysuckle. Seductive and luxurious mid-palate with a feeling of sweet cream. For all of its more extroverted nature, it remains fresh and reserved as the finish leads to waves of lively acidity. Full of grace and elegance with just enough luscious nectarine and honeycomb character to push fruit throughout the long and mouthwatering finish. Like all Bentrock chardonnay, it offers a beautiful glimpse of our refrigerated sunshine in every glass.
History
To understand the wines made by The Hilt Estate, one might need to come visit the hard and harsh conditions under which they are born. The unobstructed, ocean facing east-west valley known as Sta. Rita Hills Valley is a complex AVA. One could divide it into four quadrants: northern-facing, southern-facing, close to the ocean, and further inland from the ocean. With such a frame, The Hilt’s favorite vineyards are in the northern-facing, closest to the ocean, windswept quadrant. These sites are the worst place for a grape grower, but the best ones for a winemaker.
The Hilt Estate vineyards are planted near 13 unobstructed miles from the ocean on the west. This unique, large and sprawling property offers a range of altitudes, aspects, soil types, and microclimates, giving winemaker Matt Dees a patchwork of vineyard parcels from which to select grapes and create wines with distinctive styles.
Diverse though it may be, The Hilt Estate possesses some aspects that remain consistent: the land has poor soils that force vines to dig deep; there are powerful, whipping winds and a cold maritime climate that allow grapes on the property to ripen slowly and retain acidity despite the warm daytime sun; and the vines on the property are low in vigor, allowing them to produce low yields of concentrated, complex grapes. It is with these three important components – poor soils, whipping winds and a cool maritime climate along with low vigor vines – that The Hilt Estate defines itself in the Sta. Rita Hills.
