The 2020 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard offers stunning transparency, with the volume turned up on aromatic detail and structural harmony. It opens with characteristic matchstick and flint that slowly unfolds to scents of white peach, lemon peel, crushed shell and dried chamomile. The palate is seamless, satiny and highly concentrated yet youthfully coiled, with a tensile core of preserved citrus. It has a long, mineral-driven finish that hints at the floral perfume and savory nuances yet to emerge. Curious about that matchstick character, I drank from this open bottle for five days as it opened and expanded in expression—it's going to be long lived in the cellar. Winemaker Andy Smith says this may be the earliest pick ever of Hyde—these Chardonnay grapes were harvested just two days after the wildfires began, on August 20th. Typically around 36 barrels are made; in 2020, only 20 barrels were made.