The Wine Advocate – December 2022 – Spotlight on Aubert

Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

My tasting with Mark Aubert was one of the most anticipated visits of my first year reviewing Napa wines for Robert Parker Wine Advocate. Having read years of previous reviews—and sampling the occasional bottle along the way—I had high expectations for the wines.

The Aubert Chardonnays are big, flavorful wines, dominated in their youth by ripe fruit flavors and balanced acidities—despite being aged in as much as 75% new French oak—wines that epitomize their West Coast origins. Personified, they’re the All-American, stereotypical California pinup on the surface, yet they have sufficient depth and complexity to get into Ivy League colleges and acquire layers of greater richness and discretion with age. Even if you don’t think that’s your type, there’s virtually no denying the matinee-idol-meets-deep-thinker appeal these wines possess.

2021 Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96-98 Points

There’s just a hint of fumé character, those smoky, mocha notes accenting ripe peaches and bright lime pith. It’s characteristically full-bodied, generous, creamy and lush, yet with enough acidity to keep it clean and fresh on the finish.

2021 Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard Russian River
Score: 95-97 Points

Despite plenty of new French oak in the élevage, there’s only a faintly fumé, crushed-stone character on the nose, which nicely sets off the wine’s white peach and lime notes. Full-bodied and generous but sturdily built, with an imposing structure, the 2021 Chardonnay Eastside is powerful and long on the finish.

2021 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard Carneros
Score: 94-96 Points

The coolest of Aubert’s Chardonnay sites, the 2021 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons boasts lovely aromas reminiscent of melon, citrus curd and lime zest. It’s full-bodied and creamy, with a silky, custardy mouthfeel and tremendous length.

2021 Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 98-100 Points

The 2021 Lauren exudes power yet remains balanced. Hints of pencil shavings mark the nose, joined by effusive notes of lime and white peach, while the palate is full-bodied, rich and slightly oily in feel. Despite a sense of massive density, it remains fresh and lively, with great length and energy on the finish. It’s the crowning achievement among a stellar collection of 2021s from Aubert.

2021 Chardonnay Park Avenue Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 94-96 Points

There are attractive, intense notes of lime blossom, white peach, and citrus zest. Full-bodied, rich and round, it’s bright, zesty and long on the finish.

2021 Chardonnay Powder House Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95-97 Points

Floral, non-fruity hints of crushed stone and talcum powder appear on the nose of Aubert’s 2021 Chardonnay Powder House, creating an attractive counterpoint to the wine’s honeyed richness and intense white-peach notes. Full-bodied and silky in feel, it’s a bit custardy in texture yet lithe, graceful and long, with an almost mentholated finish.

2021 Chardonnay Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard Napa Valley
Score: 93-95 Points

The 2021 Sugar Shack offers up attractive aromas of toasted hazelnuts and ripe peaches. Big, broad and fleshy in the mouth, it turns a bit angular on the finish, providing a bright, fresh counterpoint to the earlier opulence.

2021 Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96-98 Points

There are 2,000 cases of this elixir, which offers up classic notes of toasted hazelnuts, white peaches and citrus zest. It’s full-bodied, rich and opulent yet contained and controlled, with great silky length and energy. Aubert describes the oak thusly: “The oak is perfect. It just kisses you with a bit of vanilla and cookie dough.” The wine is certainly delicious, and thinking back on it, I wonder if my rating is a bit conservative.

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2021 Pinot Noir CIX Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95+ Points

Raspberry fruit predominates, accented by attractive sous-bois complexity in this bright, spicy effort. Medium-bodied, silky and crisp, it finishes long and softly dusty, with great length.

2021 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 94+ Points

The 2021 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard features bold notes of cherries, cinnamon and wood spice. It’s medium to full-bodied and silky across the mid-palate, finishing long and softly tannic. Nicely balanced and structured, it should age well for more than a decade.

2021 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96+ Points

The 2021 Pinot Noir UV-SL kicks off with notes of alpine strawberries and lovely, almost garrigue-like notions. It’s delicate yet also the most generous and full-bodied of the three Pinot Noirs, with voluminous, silky tannins and terrific length and elegance married to a tense, wiry structure and intense fruit. Wow.

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2020 Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 97 Points

Another terrific year for this bottling, the 2020 Chardonnay CIX Estate is lightly toasty, then tropical, with yellow peach, possibly even mango notes, balanced by bright, lime-like acids. It’s full-bodied, creamy and rich, yet not heavy at all, with great energy and lift on the finish.

2020 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard Carneros
Score: 96 Points

The 2020 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons bursts with aromas of ripe, honeyed melon, balanced by bright lime notes. Full-bodied, creamy and lush on the palate, this is just a pleasure to drink, finishing long and zesty.

2020 Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 98 Points

Hints of pencil shavings that accent white peach and pineapple—there’s tremendous fruit intensity here. Full-bodied and powerful, this blend of four heirloom selections remains exceptionally zesty, clean and fresh, with great length seamlessly allied to considerable richness. For now, I give a slight nod to the 2021 vintage, but this is a similarly terrific wine.

2020 Chardonnay Park Avenue Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95 Points

Aubert’s 2020 Chardonnay Park Avenue is a lush, full-bodied effort loaded with ripe-tasting stone fruit, set against a backdrop of white nectarine and fresh lime juice. Plump and creamy in the mouth, expansive and generous, it finishes with a savory hint of mocha. Sandwiched between Lauren and CIX, it’s a parcel that should yield even greater wines as the vines age.

2020 Chardonnay Powder House Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 94 Points

Aubert’s 2020 Chardonnay Powder House comes across as a bit more crisp, focused and linear than many of the other wines here. Melon, yellow plum and lime notes appear upon the nose, while the full-bodied palate is concentrated, fresh and zesty. It’s an excellent wine…

2020 Chardonnay Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard Napa Valley
Score: 95 Points

The 2020 Chardonnay Sugar Shack features intense scents of lime zest, honey and yellow peaches. Full-bodied, rich and ripe, it tightens up on the finish, adding more bright, refreshing citrus notes.

2020 Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 94 Points

Pronounced notes of crushed stone framing lime zest and white peaches. Full-bodied yet zesty, clean and refreshing, it’s a laser beam of bright fruit, seemingly without the typical Aubert fleshy curvaceousness.