The 2009 Chardonnay Ulises Valdez Vineyard is big, bold and beautiful. The explosiveness of these Wente clones comes through loud and clear. Layers of fruit build effortlessly towards a textured finish laced with smoke, licorice, honey and butter. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. This is a dazzling set of Chardonnays and Pinots from Paul Hobbs. The wines are made with native primary and secondary fermentations, aged on their lees and bottled without fining of filtration. Readers may want to check out my video interview with Paul Hobbs on www.eroberparker.com for more details. Vintages 2009 and 2010 are both strong, but I find myself favoring the 2010s for their greater verve and focus. Either way, it is virtually impossible to go wrong with any of these new and upcoming releases. Tel. (707) 824-9879

The 2009 Chardonnay Ulises Valdez Vineyard is big, bold and beautiful. The explosiveness of these Wente clones comes through loud and clear. Layers of fruit build effortlessly towards a textured finish laced with smoke, licorice, honey and butter. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2017. This is a dazzling set of Chardonnays and Pinots from Paul Hobbs. The wines are made with native primary and secondary fermentations, aged on their lees and bottled without fining of filtration. Readers may want to check out my video interview with Paul Hobbs on www.eroberparker.com for more details. Vintages 2009 and 2010 are both strong, but I find myself favoring the 2010s for their greater verve and focus. Either way, it is virtually impossible to go wrong with any of these new and upcoming releases.Tel. (707) 824-9879