Deep gold color; pineapple, lemon, yellow apple, peach, papaya, vanilla, almond, butterscotch, honeysuckle on the nose and palate.
Dry; bright acidity (3.67 pH), no noticeable tannins. Full body for a chardonnay. Loaded with ripe fruit. Oak and full malolactic conversion well executed. Pure chardonnay play from Hahn’s certified sustainable vineyards. Well-made chardonnay that assiduously shuns the chardonnay caricatures made by less dedicated and less talented makers. 14.5% ABV
Hahn Family Wines is family-owned and operated. Founders Nicky and Gaby Hahn came to the Santa Lucia Highlands in the late 1970s. The Swiss-born couple soon recognized the region’s potential for quality wines. Nicky Hahn in 1988: “We all produce world class fruit from well managed vineyards. We deserve therefore our own recognition with our own premium price and marketable exciting appellation that wine writers can discover, laud and praise.”
The couple purchased Smith & Hook Vineyards, planted exclusively in cabernet sauvignon, in 1979. They released their first Smith & Hook cab the following year. In 1990, the Hahns realized Santa Lucia was better suited for cooler climate grapes—pinot noir and chardonnay. In 1991, Santa Lucia Highlands was awarded AVA status after heavy lobbying by Nicky. The Hahns continued to obtain Santa Lucia Highlands vineyards throughout the 1990s. They also opened a visitor center, the the Hahn Carmel tasting room in 2017.
In 2007, the Hahns turned over management of their operation to Philip Hahn after he had an eight-year career on Wall Street. Philip is the chairman today. Founder Nicolaus “Nicky” Hahn passed away in 2018. Co-founder Gaby Hahn earned law degrees in both Germany and France before focusing on wine; she pursues art appreciation and her own artistic efforts today. Hahn daughter, Caroline, holds a PhD in veterinary medicine from the University of Edinburgh and serves as an ambassador for Hahn Family Wines.
Hahn Appellation Series wines are sourced from their estate vineyards in the Arroyo Seco appellation of Monterey County. Located south of the Santa Lucia Highlands, Arroyo Seco is on the smallest and oldest AVAs in California. The growing season is unusually long thanks to the cooling winds that blow in each day from Monterey Bay. The grapes were picked at peak ripeness, destemmed, and fermented in small French oak barrels. Full malolactic fermentation (actually, since the conversion is done by bacteria and not yeast, properly stated malolactic is a conversion and not a fermentation). Wine aged on the lees in French oak for 11 months to develop even more roundness and depth.
Hahn Family Wines Appellation Series Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco 2021 is rich, full, round, clean, an impressive example of oaked chardonnay that touches and the delicious, well-made chard bases and avoids the cartoon excesses that spawned the ABC—Anything But Chardonnay—meme. Versatile with food, easily can be enjoyed sipped solo. Pair with poultry; pork; rich fish—salmon, tuna, cod, mackerel, trout, sardines; garden salads; vegetarian fare. Cheese—triple-crème cheeses, camembert, brie, sharp cheddar, mild blue cheese, sheep’s milk cheeses. $22-25
