Vintage Chart

Issue #64

The 2012 Reserve Chardonnay from Jeffrey Patterson is a beautiful, young bottle in the making. The nose is still quite primary, but shows outstanding depth and potential in its blend of apple, pear, acacia blossom, lovely soil tones, a touch of hazelnut and a discreet base of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is very pure, focused and primary in personality, with its full-bodied format still quite tightly-knit, with a fine core, lovely acids and impressive focus and grip on the long, youthfully complex and impeccably balanced finish. This is still very early days for this lovely wine, and it will require some patience of those who would like to drink it with its secondary layers of complexity in full bloom. A lovely bottle that should be a real long distance runner. 2020-2045+.

The 2012 Chardonnay Reserve is absolutely gorgeous. Vivid and pure, with notable intensity but no excess weight, the 2012 has everything going on. Chamomile, white flowers, mint and white pepper give the wine its natural brightness and lift. Graphite, slate and a host of more mineral-inflected notes add complexity through to the long, articulate finish. Mount Eden’s Chardonnay is one of the truly great wines of California. The 2012 Reserve is not a big wine, but it is sublime, even if it is a bit closed today. Even so, the wine’s pedigree is first-class all the way. Quite simply, Mount Eden’s Reserve is one of the best Chardonnays, not just in the United States, but in the world. Drink 2016-2023.