The Wine Palate – December 2025 – Aubert

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Palate, December 11th, 2025

Aubert is widely regarded as one of the top Chardonnay producers in the United States and a benchmark estate on the world stage. The estate continues to develop a style of California Chardonnay that is boldly rich yet strikingly fresh, guided by precise farming and a cellar approach that emphasizes protection, patience, and consistency. The outcome is a collection of Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs that have earned a reputation as some of the most desirable wines in the country—and that support Mark Aubert’s view that, with the right grapes and coastal sites, California can produce white wines of genuine worldwide recognition.

2024 Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 98 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay CIX Estate zips out with eager-to-please notes of lemon tart, Granny Smith apples, and lime blossoms, plus underlying suggestions of wet slate and peaches and cream. The super-concentrated, full-bodied palate is stacked with stone fruit and citrusy layers, supported by a crisp backbone and satiny texture, finishing with incredible length and depth. Wow.

2024 Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard Russian River
Score: 96 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay Eastside races from the glass with vivacious notes of lime cordial, struck flint, citron blossom, and grapefruit, plus a touch of crushed rocks. The full-bodied palate is tightly wound with chalk-laced citrus fruit layers and a crisp backbone, finishing with incredible length and a whole firework display of minerals.

2024 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons Vineyard Carneros
Score: 98 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons shoots out of the glass like a laser beam, delivering a vibrant nose of fresh lime juice, grapefruit, and chalk dust with hints of struck match and coriander seed. The full-bodied palate is dense with citrus fruit layers and chalky accents, delivering the most decadently gorgeous, creamy texture and fabulous tension, finishing long and minerally.

2024 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard Carneros
Score: 97 Points

The 2024 Hudson Chardonnay needs a little swirling and coaxing to bring out notes of juicy pears, honeydew melon, and allspice, followed by hints of marzipan and beeswax. The full-bodied palate is seductively satiny with rich orchard fruit layers and plenty of freshness, finishing long and opulent. YUM!

2024 Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 99 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay Lauren Estate sashays out with showy notes of ripe apricots, Bosc pears, and Golden Delicious apples, followed by hints of almond croissant, candied ginger, and orange blossoms. The full-bodied palate is a little restrained to start, slowly expanding to reveal stacks of savory and stone fruit layers, supported by seamless freshness and a compellingly velvety texture, finishing long and opulent. Stunning.

2024 Chardonnay Park Avenue Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 97 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay Park Avenue shimmies out of the glass with ready-to-go scents of Bosc pears, yellow apples, and apricots, giving way to hints of talc, honeysuckle, and brioche. The full-bodied palate is taut and more reserved than the nose with seamless freshness and a creamy texture, finishing long and savory.

2024 Chardonnay Powder House Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 97 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay Powder House needs a little shaking to wake up scents of lemongrass, chalk dust, and struck flint, leading to a core of green apples, grapefruit, and jasmine tea. Full-bodied, the palate is tight-knit and electric with vibrant orchard and citrus fruit flavors, framed by a crisp backbone and a satiny texture, finishing long and minerally.

2024 Chardonnay Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard Napa Valley
Score: 98 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay Sugar Shack waltzes out of the glass with flamboyant notes of ripe white peaches, guava, juicy pears, and fresh ginger, plus suggestions of orange blossoms and wet pebbles. The full-bodied palate is racy and lively with bold orchard fruit flavors and a silky texture, finishing long with a provocative tropical fruit lift.

2024 Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96 Points

The 2024 Chardonnay UV-SL bursts with bold notes of ripe pineapples, juicy nectarines, and green guava, leading to hints of baking bread, spice cake, and powdered ginger. Full-bodied, the palate is beautifully poised and satiny with textbook tension and loads of tropical fruit and stone fruit layers, finishing with a provocative zesty lift.

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2024 Pinot Noir CIX Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96 Points

Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2024 Pinot Noir CIX Estate flies out of the glass with energetic scents of crushed mulberries, blackberries, and wild blueberries with touches of Chinese five spice, fallen leaves, rose bud tea, and preserved orange peel. Full-bodied, the palate delivers incredible tension to offset the intense black fruit and exotic spice layers, supported by firm, grainy tannins, finishing very long and fragrant.

2024 Pinot Noir Park Avenue Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 97 Points

Deep ruby-purple in color, the 2024 Pinot Noir Park Avenue Estate erupts from the glass with a powerful perfume of boysenberries, black cherry compote, and blackberries, followed by nuances of anise, lilacs, tar, and underbrush. The full-bodied palate is jam-packed with black fruit layers with velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and opulent.

2024 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95 Points

The 2024 Pinot Noir UV is medium ruby-purple in color. It comes bounding out of the glass with notes of juicy black cherries, pomegranate, and black raspberries, plus hints of candied violets, dark chocolate, and mint tea. The full-bodied palate is bursting with black cherry and juicy raspberry flavors with a seriously racy backbone and very fine-grained tannin, finishing with loads of mint and mineral sparks.

2024 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96 Points

Deep ruby-purple colored, the 2024 Pinot Noir UV-SL charges out of the glass with gregarious, intense scents of red currant jelly, wild strawberries, and Bing cherries, followed by hints of pine resin, lavender, mossy tree bark, and black pepper. The medium to full-bodied palate is wonderfully light on its feet and refreshing with super-silky tannins and vibrant red berry flavors, finishing long and earthy.