Mark Aubert is pretty emphatic in stating that 2012 is the greatest vintage he has seen in his 29 years of making wine. Good amounts of rain during the first part of the year put the vines in the conditions to set a healthy crop with no stress. The 2012 Chardonnays saw native fermentations that Aubert described as smooth. The wines were aged for about a year in barrel with no racking, followed by a brief period of about three months in tank prior to being bottled in December 2013. Extended macerations were the rule with the Pinot Noirs, which were aged about 14 months in barrel and also bottled in December 2013. As always, Mark Aubert aims for textural richness with his Chardonnays and Pinots, which tend to tip the scales in the 15.5% alcohol range. New oak levels are on the high side, but the wines rarely seem oaky, they are just incredibly textured. At their finest, the Aubert wines are super-intense, but not heavy. In order to show at their best, though, when young the Aubert wines need at least a few hours of air. These bottles were opened for 6-8 hours in advance, but even that wasn’t enough for some of the wines, which needed time in the glass to fully come together. In particular, I find the best Chardonnays compelling.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay CIX Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95+
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
The 2012 Chardonnay CIX Vineyard is one of the more focused wines in this range. There is plenty of Aubert richness in the glass, but the style is a bit more structured and broader on the palate, with a phenolic sense reminiscent of a red wine. I would prefer to give the 2012 another year or two in bottle to settle down. Today, the minerality is intense and imposing. CIX sits next to the vineyard that informs Aubert’s Lauren Chardonnay.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard Russian River
Score: 95
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
Smoke, slate, yellow orchard fruit, honey and apricot notes flesh out in the 2012 Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard, another of Mark Aubert’s sites planted with the Montrachet clone. The heavy presence of rocks in this vineyard gives the wines a sense of energy that balances the overtness of the fruit. Even with all of the richness, there is plenty of detail and nuance in the glass.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Larry Hyde and Sons Vineyard Carneros
Score: 94
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
The 2012 Chardonnay Larry Hyde and Sons is wonderfully textured in the glass. Vivid and layered, the 2012 flows across the palate with hints of Chamomile, lemon curd, mint, wild flowers and a hint of honey. The 2012 was aged in 70% new French oak barrels, all of which it handles with grace. The finish is long and exceptionally polished.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
Almonds, hazelnuts, pastry and green orchard fruit meld together in Aubert’s 2012 Chardonnay Lauren Vineyard. One of the more textured, layered wines, the 2012 impresses for its balance and overall sense of harmony. A racy, perfumed finish rounds things out.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
The 2012 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is a wine of pure texture. Lemon, white flowers, dried pears, mint and spices meld together in the glass. Absolutely nothing is out of place here. The flavors are vivid, intense and layered. Readers may notice a slightly cloudy color in the 2012, which is the result of one tank that had an especially late malolactic fermentation. I tasted these wines right after bottling, and it is entirely possible over time the color will settle a bit. The wines are never fined or filtered here, so from time to time the color can be cloudy, as consumers who have bought these wines in the past know. In any event, the 2012 Ritchie is gorgeous.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Sugar Shack Estate Vineyard Napa Valley
Score: 93+
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
One of the more explosive wines in the range, the 2012 Chardonnay Sugar Shack hits the palate with tons of depth and pure body. Readers who can put the wine aside for a few years should do so, as today the structure and intensity of the fruit are both incredibly intense. The style is rich, tropical, honeyed and voluptuous to the core. Sugar Shack emerges from a site in Rutherford, just outside St. Helena, planted by David Abreu with a Montrachet clone. This is the same wine that was labeled as Napa Valley in 2011. The vines are now seven years old. There is every reason to think the best lies ahead.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 96
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2022
Aubert’s 2012 Chardonnay UV-SL Vineyard, from a site owned by vineyard guru Ulises Valdez, is superb. Apricot, honey, mint, nectarine, butter and white truffles flesh out in the glass. The flavors are remarkably vivid and nuanced, with tons of richness and intensity, but no sense of heaviness. Here, too, the oak is 100% new. Bright veins of underlying salinity and minerality become more prominent over time, adding to the wine’s energy and vivid personality. Aubert fans will want to jump all over the UV-SL.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Carneros Appellation
Score: 89
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2018
Lemon, pear, white flowers, spices and almonds meld together in the 2012 Chardonnay Carneros. Soft, textured and inviting, the 2012 is open for business today. This is a fairly lifted, floral style for Aubert. In 2012 the Carneros emerges from a new, young-vine block within the Hyde vineyard planted with the Wente clone, but the flavor profile is a little brighter and more citrus-driven than is typically the case in most Wente Chardonnays.
2012 Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma Coast Appellation
Score: 91
Drinking Window: 2014 – 2018
The 2012 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is wonderfully saline and tense on the palate. Green apple, pear, slate, crushed rocks, mint and white flowers are all pointed and articulate in the glass. These vines are just four years old, so there is a lot to look forward to.
2012 Aubert Pinot Noir CIX Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 93+
Drinking Window: 2015 – 2022
Aubert’s 2012 Pinot Noir CIX Vineyard comes across as subtle and understated in this context. A wine of silkiness and texture, the 2012 is laced with expressive dark red fruit and gorgeous inner sweetness. The flavors are dark, racy and impeccably balanced. This parcel is planted with a Vosne-Romanee suitcase clone, which seems to give the wine a lot of distinctive aromatics.
2012 Aubert Pinot Noir Ritchie Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 92+
Drinking Window: 2015 – 2020
The 2012 Pinot Noir Ritchie Vineyard jumps from the glass with sweet red cherries, rose petals, mint, licorice and spices. This is one of the more floral, lifted wines in the range, but there is plenty of underlying structure. Today the tannins are imposing and a bit tight. Then again, the wine was just bottled a few weeks ago.
2012 Aubert Pinot Noir UV Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 94
Drinking Window: 2015 – 2022
A classic expression of the Russian River emerges from the 2012 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard. Sweet black cherries, hard candy, cloves, mint and spices meld together in a rich, sumptuous Pinot endowed with plenty of distinction. The flavors are dark, bold and juicy to the core. The 2012 will appeal most to readers who enjoy the exuberance of Russian River Pinots.
2012 Aubert Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Score: 95
Drinking Window: 2015 – 2022
The 2012 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard is the most complete of these Pinots. It is also by far the most intense. Dark red cherry, plum, spice and menthol notes all take shape in the glass. The style is broad, ample and super-ripe. Amazingly, with time in the glass, the wine comes together very nicely, but it really does need a lot of time. A juicy, boisterous finish rounds things out. The UV-SL is the Pinot that most clearly defines Mark Aubert’s deeply personal approach to Pinot Noir.