Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Russian River Valley Ritchie Vineyard 2005

2/17/2009 rated 92 points: 2005 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Richard Dinner Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain (2/17/2009)TN:Paul Hobbs 2005 Chardonnay Richard Dinner Vineyard (Sonoma Mountain, California). Sebastopol, CA. 14.7 pabv; $NA/750 ml; www.paulhobbs.com; 707-824-9879; Apparently purchased online from www.NapaCabs.com, Chino, CA.; received as a gift from RR during the Labor Day, 2008 pig ‘n corn roast in Evansville, Indiana. Double-decanted and tasted over 72 hours. Cork-finished in a very heavy bottle.Deep, almost brownish straw-copper showing intense sheeting in the glass. Fairly weighty mouthfeel, with lots of energy in front. At first this wine is all about wood–sawdust, coumarin, vanillins, with a fat,somewhat banana-like tropicality in the fruit, but there is a wet-stones, wet-sand impression that one could miss due to all the oak. No mistaking the winemaker’s love for ripest Chardonnay here, but something else is going on. In addition, there is a somewhat lactic note to the wine at first, but this integrates after a while.On entry this wine is a tale of up-front energy–dancing on the tongue, playing with sensations of vanilla, fruits, and nuts, perceived through its firm, nearly heavy mouth feel. Cannot think but that this was barrel-fermented and then given a good lashing of as much oak as it would stand, and a thoroughgoing malolactic. There’s some more wet-minerals effect here, underlain by ripe tartaric acidity (if I don't miss my bet it didn't come out of a bottle), and almost hinting at mild red pepper. It soon begins to coat the mouth with its tingling energy, as I said above, which becomes a rather impressive if not perhaps a little obvious finish, modulated by wood tannin. A take-no-prisoners package of power and muscle and fruit and wood.However, kudos to the winemaker for capturing a genuine sense of place in this Sonoma Mountain wine. There is actually a little Chablis here, not the gunflint note but certainly nice impressions of stone and cold night air of the mountain. I believe this wine would have been easier to pull off if the oak had been more discreet. But because that’s a stylistic element, and the wine really does show nice balance and terroir expression, it deserves an excellent score, though it’s not to my own Europe-trained palate. It will improve with age over the next 2-3 years, and then who knows? It definitely got itself together during the three days I watched it. (92 pts.) (7 views)Was a delightful match with the Amish melted butter and large king crab legs that Barbara and I devoured of a Valentine's day, watched by a pot of roses, a Teddy bear, and a balloon which says: 'My Favorite Teacher'.

Elegant from start to finish, this chard gets high marks on all sides. The fruit is ripe and all over the place: green apple, pineapple and pear showcase the best of the Russian River. The body is silky and round with a perfect acidity that makes it lively, yummy and a perfect food matchign wine. The oak is totally integrated and plays a very soft note in the background. Balance, complexity, yummy factor... this is just a great chardonnay.