Wine Review: Hazelfern Cellars Chardonnay 2017

The land that has been Hazelfern Cellars since 2014 was once Hazel Fern Farms, circa 1895. Bryan and Laura Laing come from winemaking families who taught them everything they know about winemaking and they've been making wine together since 2006. But they decided to buy vineyard land when a young cousin passed away and made them realize that life is short, so they went all in! The other two wines that they produce are Rosé and Syrah, but the ones I've got are their 2017 Chardonnay and 2017 Pinot Noir.

This is 100% Chardonnay from two different vineyard sites using the clones of Dijon 76, 95, and 96. It went through a 35 day fermentation, six months attaining full malolactic fermentation, and 11 months in 100% French oak of which 17% was new. The final ABV is 13%.

I love the design of their labels. The simplicity of them call attention to their name, which is done in a font that makes it stand out from others. However, the reflection of light off the silver text make the Chardonnay labels a bit difficult to photograph. But that doesn't even matter. They got themseves some excellent design work done for their labels.

This Chardonnay is light gold in color. It's got a toasty cloud on the nose over butterscotch and tropical fruit aromas of mango, pineapple juice, and pink grapefruit. It's full bodied with a beautifully creamy mouthfeel and an acidity that perks things up but doesn't take over too much. I get flavors of green apple, orange, grapefruit, and cilantro. Then it finishes with that perky acidity, apples, and cilantro.

What an intense character this wine has. Almost a year in oak and full malo but still bright and spunky. This qualifies as a "happy maker", because if it doesn't make you smile...

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $35

Rating: 4/5 = Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was provided free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.