Laird Family Estate Chardonnay Red Hen Ranch Oak Knoll District Napa Valley 2019
Classic Napa chardonnay lovers rejoice! Triple 92 POINTS! Bold, rich, creamy, and bright...all for UNDER $20!
Lovers of BOLD, brash, and creamy California CHARDONNAY…where ya AT?!?! Stand tall, stand proud – TODAY is your day! Laird’s RED HEN is back! Is it buttery? You bet. Is it rich? Like Elon Musk the day before he bought Twitter, baby! But is it balanced, bright, fresh, and crisp? Heck YEAH! Glorious 2019 vintage, ready to rock for all your golden gulping needs today!
Boo-yaaaa! The Lairds have been farming Napa grapes since the 1970s, buying up choice plots – from Calistoga to Carneros as the decades rolled on. They stand as one of Napa’s pre-eminent growing families, selling top-dollar fruit from thousands of acres to many of Napa’s most prestigious wineries. They keep ONLY 3% of the fruit they grow for themselves, making a small yet mighty portfolio of absolute GEMS – just. Like. THIS! A totally kickass, over-the-top-in-the-best-kinda-way, truly STUNNING Napa Valley chardonnay from a single vineyard plot just next to their winery in Napa’s western foothills. Delicious, mouth-watering, and an utterly perfect, all-the-time sipper. Touch blue, make it true. When Parker, Suckling, AND Dunnuck agree…you WIN! Trip 92 POINTS, baby!
All hyperbole aside – this is MAGNIFICENT! Give in to that guilty pleasure, even if you jokingly call it cougar juice or housewife heroin tomorrow (all in good fun, right?) So rock your Napa-tastic chardonnay Ts and wave your Buttery & Bold flags high and wide...this is a chard to be CELEBRATED! It’s just WHAT. YOU. WANT.
Pure, clean, bright, and balanced, this is rich and creamy – but OH-SO-MUCH-MORE! Harmonious, and flavorful – orange marmalade, buttered pralines, Granny Smith apple pie, smoky flint, lemon curd, green cardamom, baked pear tartlets – just soul-warming, heart-pounding stuff from start to finish. Killer on its own (say, rocking on a porch with the sun falling over the hills), but with a brightness, zip, and mineral edge that makes it just HUUUUUMMMMMM with the right bite o’deliciousness. Seared scallops with brown butter and yuzu? Oh, hell YES! Trust me...you will take one sip and instantly wish you’d gotten more! At our dizzying price of UNDER $20...while it lasts!
** What came first – the vineyard or the cantina? No idea – but long-time Napa residents and visitors know what I’m talking about. A watering hole par-excellence for Napa – where the beers were cold, and the potential for drama was next-level…it was a sad day when the cantina shuttered its doors…* *
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92 points
“From the Oak Knoll District vineyard adjacent to the winery, the 2019 Chardonnay Red Hen Ranch shows a bit more vanilla than the Cold Creek bottling. With 30% new French oak and full malolactic, the notes of caramel and crème brûlée are pronounced yet balance nicely with the wine's melon and citrus fruit. Medium to full-bodied, the wine finishes, tight, citrusy and long.”
~Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
92 points
“Caramelized lemons, subtle pineapple, and honeyed flower notes all emerge from the 2019 Chardonnay Red Hen Ranch, a medium-bodied, nicely balanced, layered, elegant Chardonnay. It's another beautiful effort from this team that's drinking incredibly well today. As with the Cold Creek Vineyard, it has a touch of maturity as well as a slightly Burgundian edge.”
~Jeb Dunnuck
92 points
“Ripe and mellow character with candied lemons, ripe mangoes, toasted almonds and toffee caramel. Structured and complex on the palate. Creamy and full-bodied with glazed citrus fruit, lemon peel and hints of spices to close. Lingering finish. Drink or hold.”
~James Suckling
The Lairds own more than 2,000 acres of premium, coveted Napa Valley vineyard land and have been in the wine industry for over 50 years. They sell a vast majority of their fruit to other local wineries while keeping just 3% to put toward their own label, Laird Family Estate, established in 1999.
Technical Details
- Country: United States
- Region: California
- Appellation: Napa Valley
- Varietal: Chardonnay
- Vineyard: Red Hen Ranch
- Winemaker: Brian Mox
- Aging/Cooperage: 10 months in French oak (40% new oak).
- Alcohol: 14.5
About The Producer
In 1970, Ken and Gail Laird bought their first Napa Valley land parcel – a neglected 70-acre prune tree orchard off Tubbs Lane in Calistoga. They redeveloped the land into a vineyard with the financial backing and encouragement of Robert Mondavi, as long as they agreed to plant 50% gamay grapes. By the late ‘90s, the family had acquired more than 2,000 acres of vineyard land, and they began toying with the idea of making their own superior wines. Their first red blend was produced in 2005, and they aim to create wines that are “a window to a place,” with most of their vineyards concentrated in Napa and Carneros.
Pairing Suggestions
Seared scallops in brown butter with yuzu
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