Mark Aubert is producing some of the most sought-after Chardonnay in California.

These are vineyard-designated wines with stunning terroir transparency, produced with Burgundian influence in a uniquely West Coast style. Today, we are delighted to have a fantastic selection to offer.

Aubert has an impressive winemaking CV. He took over winemaking operations at Peter Michael after Helen Turley, becoming head winemaker at just 28 years of age. Subsequently, Aubert took over from Turley again several years later at Colgin Estate. He has also consulted for estates including Sloan and Bryant, setting up on his own in 1999 and his first release was the 2000 vintage.

As for the winemaking style, the wines are fully barrel fermented and aged mainly in new French oak, without any lees stirring. The vineyards are either domaine owned; or the fruit is sourced from sites under long-term contracts (UV-SL, Larry Hyde & Sons, Powder House). All of the wines are bottled without filtration.

Aubert has been quoted on the 2021 vintage in the Wine Advocate as describing it as “a winemaker’s dream… Not really any big heat waves, but with the drought and soils being drier, you get nice, concentrated grapes. Pretty textbook-perfect vintage. Good yields for Chardonnay. [If] we get three tons per acre, I’m happy. Look at the color; the wines are electric, yellow-green.”

Aubert’s wines stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest Chardonnay being produced anywhere, yet remain a real bargain in comparison.
2021 CIX Estate Chardonnay @ £2,100 per case (12) IB – 1 case
2021 CIX Estate Chardonnay @ £390 per magnum IB – 3 mags
98-100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay CIX Estate was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It swans out of the glass with notions of ripe apricots, juicy pears, and quince paste, plus suggestions of grapefruit oil, lemongrass, and toasted almonds with a touch of beeswax. Full-bodied, rich, vibrant, multi-layered, and flawless, the palate is a seamless, complex, creamy powerhouse that is impossible to put down. The finish goes on forever. CIX stands for 109 because this was called “parcel 109” when they bought it. Planted in 2008 to the Montrachet clone, the berries accumulate flavor very slowly here.

2021 Larry Hyde and Sons Vineyard @ £1,860 per case (12) IB – 1 case
2021 Larry Hyde and Sons Vineyard @ £335 per magnum IB – 3 mags
96-98 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It springs from the glass with electric scents of lemon and grapefruit juices, leading to suggestions of fresh ginger, crushed stones, and brine. The full-bodied palate delivers beautiful seamlessness, with a silken texture and wonderful lift on the long, long finish. Planted with the Corton Charlemagne clone of St Georges rootstock, this is one of the last vineyards to be harvested, hence a long hang-time.

2021 Powder House @ £1,980 per case (12) IB – 1 case
2021 Powder House @ £360 per magnum IB – 3 mags
96-98+ points points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay Powder House was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It soars out of the glass with a gorgeous perfume of peach cobbler, apple blossoms, and honeydew melon, leading to suggestions of persimmons, quince, spice cake, and almond croissant with a waft of honeycomb. Full-bodied, the palate is so fragrant and graceful, with a fantastic seamlessness and silken texture, leading to amazing length and depth on the finish of this gorgeous wine. This vineyard, on Goldridge soils near downtown Forestville, was planted in 2013. There are basically 2 clones, Hyde and Mt Eden, on 420 A & 114 rootstocks, and the row direction is due north.

2021 Sugar Shack Vineyard @ £1,980 per case (12) IB – 1 case
2021 Sugar Shack Vineyard @ £380 per magnums IB – 3 mags
96-98 points points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay Sugar Shack was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It rolls effortlessly out of the glass with alluring notes of juicy nectarines, honeydew melon, and lemon pastilles, plus wafts of sassafras and marzipan. Full-bodied, the flavors build in the mouth, stacking layers of citrus, melon, and spices, finishing opulent. This is the Montrachet Clone – what Mark calls “the citrus circus” clone.

2021 Lauren Estate @ £2,580 per case (12) IB – 1 case
2021 Lauren Estate @ £480 per magnum IB – 3 mags
98-100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay Lauren Estate, tasted as a tank sample due to be bottled in December 2022, was made with 100% new oak – though it doesn’t show. It prances out with showy scents of ginger tea, lemon meringue pie, grapefruit oil, and sassafras with touches of allspice and sea spray plus a hint of jasmine. Full-bodied, rich, opulent, and spicy / savory, it has an amazingly satiny texture with electric tension and incredible length. So thick and yet so ethereal, this is a jaw-dropper. It comes from a complex vineyard planted to four different clones: two old Wente clones, Mt Eden, and Corton Charlemagne.

2021 UV-SL Vineyard @ £2,040 per case (12) IB – 1 case
2021 UV-SL Vineyard @ £365 per magnum IB – 3 mags
97-99 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay UV-SL was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It opens with compelling struck flint and wet slate wafts before going full-throttle with grapefruit, green mango, and pineapple scents, leading to suggestions of lime and yuzu zest. The full-bodied palate is powerful, muscular, and dense with a creamy texture and a fantastically long honey and hazelnut-laced finish. It is named after one of Sonoma’s most reputable vineyard managers, Ulises Valdez Sr. (UV), who passed away recently. The vineyard is situated on Stoetz Lane (SL), only six miles from the Pacific Ocean, up on the hills around Graton and Occidental. Aubert and Valdez Sr. collaborated on the planting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here.

2021 Aubert Eastside Vineyard @ £340 per magnum IB – 3 mags 
98-100 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2021 Chardonnay Eastside was tasted as a tank sample, due to be bottled in December 2022. It comes barreling out with bold notes of fresh peaches, lime cordial, and orange blossom with touches of crushed rocks, toasted almonds, and honeysuckle. The full-bodied palate delivers compelling tension with taut, tightly knit layers, culminating in a wonderfully exotic, pineapple and guava-laced finish. This comes from a warmer site, in Russian River, usually the second to be picked (after Sugar Shack). It is planted to the Montrachet clone on very rocky, gravelly soils, where the vines really struggle.

2020 Larry Hyde and Sons Vineyard @ £1,920 per case (12) IB – 2 cases
97 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons bursts form the glass with notes of lemongrass and ginger tea, orange blossoms, and lime cordial with wafts of yuzu and struck flint. The full-bodied palate shimmers with energy, framed by a racy backbone and creamy texture, finishing with epic length and a whole firework display of citrus sparks. This comes from two blocks, first planted in 2006 with the Corton Charlemagne clone of St Georges rootstock. This is one of the last vineyards to be harvested, hence a long hang-time.

2020 Park Avenue Estate Chardonnay @ £1,920 per case (12) IB – 2 cases
98 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 Chardonnay Park Avenue comes galloping out of the glass with energetic notes of mandarin peel, Golden Delicious apples, honeysuckle, and toasted almonds, plus suggestions of lime zest, powdered ginger, and wet slate. The full-bodied palate delivers a rock-solid structure of racy acidity and creamy texture, supporting the muscular layers of citrus and spice flavors, finishing with incredible length and depth. Aubert bought this vineyard in 2013. It’s located right in between the Lauren and CIX vineyards. A neighbor who owned these 12 acres next to Lauren, previously planted with apples, passed away. There is a long road leading up to the vineyard, hence the name Park Avenue. This is mainly Hyde Clone with a little bit of Montrachet on 101-14 and 420A rootstocks.

2020 Sugar Shack Estate Chardonnay @ £1,920 per case (12) IB – 2 cases
97 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2020 Chardonnay Sugar Shack strolls out of the glass with confident notes of apple pie, peach cobbler, fresh Bosc pears, and allspice with touches of limes leaves and green mango, plus a hint of marzipan. The full-bodied palate delivers loads of apple and pear layers with spicy accents and soft acidity, finishing soft, satiny, and decadent. This is the Montrachet Clone – what Mark calls “the citrus circus” clone.

Offered subject to final confirmation and remaining unsold, available ex LCB in April/May 2023 for the ‘21s. 2020s physically available.