Hyde De VillaineCalifornia
Wine Region
Napa Valley, California
Vineyard
63 hectares
The estate sits in the cool Carneros subregion where visionary Californian viticulturist Larry Hyde forged his reputation at the helm of Hyde Vineyards. He is joined on the Burgundian front by the legendary Aubert de Villaine, whose achievements are known throughout the world of wine.
The pivotal connection that brought these two worlds together was Pamela de Villaine – Aubert's wife and Larry Hyde's cousin.
In 2000, the inception of this collaboration granted Hyde de Villaine the privilege of selecting from Hydes’ 63 hectares of vineyards. From this expanse, 7.7 ha were meticulously chosen to suit each of the estate’s cuvées. These are Belle Cousine (a Bordeaux blend), the spicy yet refined Californio Syrah, the wonderful but elusive Ygnacia Pinot Noir, and the two exquisite Chardonnays for which the estate has become so famous.
What’s clear is that the impressive team at Hyde de Villaine are determined to push quality higher and higher. Bordeaux-born Guillaume Boudet has led the on-the-ground winemaking team since 2015. On the commercial side, James Eyer has been HDV’s General Manager since 2014. It is with huge excitement that we offer the latest release. Don’t miss it!
NEVILLE KIRKPATRICK
FINE WINE TEAM
OCTOBER 2023
CARNEROS & HYDE VINEYARDS
REDS
HDV BELLE COUSINE 2019
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot. A sumptuous nose of dark cherries, creamy red fruit, pencil shavings and cigar smoke. There is great precision here and a cool feel to the wine that keeps it remarkably fresh. The palate is powerful, full of notes of fresh red plums and blackcurrant, but there is also a sense of balance and poise provided by incredibly well managed tannin and fresh acidity that is hugely enjoyable. I suspect this will drink superbly almost right away.
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2031
£995 / CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
HDV 'CALIFORNIO' SYRAH 2019
I must confess I have a bit of a soft spot for this wine… Once again it comes soaring out the glass with a gorgeous nose of black cherries, grilled meat and red plums all accented with gentle spice. The slow ripening and prolonged growing season of 2019 has brought real freshness to the wine along with abundant but fine tannin. Whilst there aren’t the crispy bacon notes that can appear in this wine with age, there is an inner savouriness that works wonders with the delicate red and black fruit. Once again, a total joy!
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2031
£890 / CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
HDV ‘YGNACIA’ PINOT NOIR 2020
A blend of six heritage clones collected by Larry Hyde over the last 40 years. Ygnacia has an almost overwhelming nose of delicate spices, orange rind, roses and fresh cherries. The palate is silken, juicy and energetic. Paper fine tannins combine beautifully with that all important line of acidity. The fruit is pure, ripe and distinct and accented nicely by notes of star anise and potpourri. Impressive as always.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2029
£1,255 / CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
WHITES
HDV CHARDONNAY 2020
HDV’s flagship wine continues to impress. A perfume of ripe apples, spring flowers and a whiff of salinity bring both generosity and tension to the nose. The palate follows in a similar vein with nice interplay between flavours of ripe nectarine, lemon tart and white pepper. The sensitive use of new oak and core of acidity gives the wine all-important structure and depth with everything culminating in a fabulously long finish. This is worth chasing!
Corney & Barrow Score 18
Recommended drinking from 2024–2027
£890 / CASE OF 12 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
HDV 'COMANDANTE' CHARDONNAY 2021
Taken from a six-barrel selection from the original Wente clones planted in 1979, just 0.3 hectares here! The nose on Comandante is focused, tense and full of beguiling notes of crushed stone, citrus and sesame. The palate is textural, phenolic, and expansive but there is a backbone of acidity which keeps the wine tense and energetic. The fruit profile is a real joy, jumping from ripe mango and apricot to lemons and limes.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2032
£915 / CASE OF 6 BOTTLES, IN BOND UK
Introduction
Hyde de Villaine is a collaboration between two distinguished wine dynasties and represents the meeting of Napa Valley and Burgundy's finest traditions.
The estate sits in the cool Carneros subregion where visionary Californian viticulturist Larry Hyde forged his reputation at the helm of Hyde Vineyards. He is joined on the Burgundian front by the legendary Aubert de Villaine, whose achievements are known throughout the world of wine.
The pivotal connection that brought these two worlds together was Pamela de Villaine – Aubert's wife and Larry Hyde's cousin.
In 2000, the inception of this collaboration granted Hyde de Villaine the privilege of selecting from Hydes’ 63 hectares of vineyards. From this expanse, 7.7 ha were meticulously chosen to suit each of the estate’s cuvées. These are Belle Cousine (a Bordeaux blend), the spicy yet refined Californio Syrah, the wonderful but elusive Ygnacia Pinot Noir, and the two exquisite Chardonnays for which the estate has become so famous.
What’s clear is that the impressive team at Hyde de Villaine are determined to push quality higher and higher. Bordeaux-born Guillaume Boudet has led the on-the-ground winemaking team since 2015. On the commercial side, James Eyer has been HDV’s General Manager since 2014. It is with huge excitement that we offer the latest release. Don’t miss it!
NEVILLE KIRKPATRICK
FINE WINE TEAM
OCTOBER 2023
VINTAGE NOTES
In the words of Guillaume Boudet, Hyde de Villaine’s winemaker.
2019 Vintage
Napa experienced a dry start to winter, followed by heavy rains into early spring. The late rains resulted in vigorous growth and a lower-than-average fruit set. Overall, these were very challenging viticultural conditions. Despite the extended wet conditions in spring, the summer followed with exceptional weather; heavy fog in the mornings followed by warm sunny days. The optimal conditions created a lengthy growing season, allowing the fruit to slowly ripen and preserve the finesse and freshness of the vintage. 2019 is an exciting vintage because of the balance, concentration, and purity of flavours focused by fresh acidity.
2020 Vintage
2020 gave birth to wines full of character and personality, emphasising the strength and resilience of the Hyde Vineyard. The growing season was defined by extreme drought conditions and intense heat, creating challenges for even growth and ripening. Yields were lower than normal, but the resulting wines are of precision and concentration, accompanied by brighter natural acids and pronounced minerality.
Despite the challenges 2020 presented in the vineyards, we are immensely proud of the wines made. A fitting way to celebrate the estate’s 20th anniversary!
2021 vintage
Despite the severe drought conditions that dictated the growing season, 2021 remained a very calm vintage with no heat spikes or natural disasters in the lead up to harvest. The mild weather, along with lower yields, elevated the concentration as well as imparting great freshness in the grapes. The resulting wines, have precision and focus. An age-worthy vintage, along the lines of 2015 or 2017, that proved to be some of the best wines ever produced.
CARNEROS & HYDE VINEYARDS
Carneros spans the southern end of both Napa and Sonoma counties, benefitting from warmth from the north and the cooling influences of the misty San Pablo Bay.
Phylloxera decimated the vineyards of Carneros in the late 1900s and Prohibition slowed the recovery. By the 1970s, there was growing recognition of a typicity of style and in the 1980s, planting accelerated.
Carneros nestles in the low hills of the Macayamas mountains. Although the majority is in Sonoma, the wines may be labelled as Sonoma or Napa AVA (American Viticultural Area).
Proximity to San Pablo Bay is key, the fogs and coastal breezes, channelled through the Petaluma Gap, providing a cooling influence and allowing for a prolonged growing season. Carneros won AVA status in its own right in 1983.
HDV’s wines are from a near-contiguous series of plots within Hyde Vineyards, on gently rolling hills, facing southeast.
The Chardonnay and Syrah are planted on shallow, loamy soils over ancient alluvial terraces and hard clay. The Merlot and Cabernet are clustered at the northern end of the vineyard, further from the cooling fog of the bay, the better to ripen. The soils are deeper here too and the south-east slopes are steeper.
The temperate Carneros climate prolongs the growing season, allowing the vines to steadily build intensity and complexity whilst retaining acidity. Drainage is helped by ancient creek beds which lie between the topsoil and the clay pan. Enough moisture is generally retained to make irrigation unnecessary.
THE WINES
HDV BELLE COUSINE 2019
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot. A sumptuous nose of dark cherries, creamy red fruit, pencil shavings and cigar smoke. There is great precision here and a cool feel to the wine that keeps it remarkably fresh. The palate is powerful, full of notes of fresh red plums and blackcurrant, but there is also a sense of balance and poise provided by incredibly well managed tannin and fresh acidity that is hugely enjoyable. I suspect this will drink superbly almost right away.
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2031
HDV 'CALIFORNIO' SYRAH 2019
I must confess I have a bit of a soft spot for this wine… Once again it comes soaring out the glass with a gorgeous nose of black cherries, grilled meat and red plums all accented with gentle spice. The slow ripening and prolonged growing season of 2019 has brought real freshness to the wine along with abundant but fine tannin. Whilst there aren’t the crispy bacon notes that can appear in this wine with age, there is an inner savouriness that works wonders with the delicate red and black fruit. Once again, a total joy!
Corney & Barrow Score 17.5+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2031
HDV ‘YGNACIA’ PINOT NOIR 2020
A blend of six heritage clones collected by Larry Hyde over the last 40 years. Ygnacia has an almost overwhelming nose of delicate spices, orange rind, roses and fresh cherries. The palate is silken, juicy and energetic. Paper fine tannins combine beautifully with that all important line of acidity. The fruit is pure, ripe and distinct and accented nicely by notes of star anise and potpourri. Impressive as always.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2029
HDV CHARDONNAY 2020
HDV’s flagship wine continues to impress. A perfume of ripe apples, spring flowers and a whiff of salinity bring both generosity and tension to the nose. The palate follows in a similar vein with nice interplay between flavours of ripe nectarine, lemon tart and white pepper. The sensitive use of new oak and core of acidity gives the wine all-important structure and depth with everything culminating in a fabulously long finish. This is worth chasing!
Corney & Barrow Score 18
Recommended drinking from 2024–2027
HDV 'COMANDANTE' CHARDONNAY 2021
Taken from a six-barrel selection from the original Wente clones planted in 1979, just 0.3 hectares here! The nose on Comandante is focused, tense and full of beguiling notes of crushed stone, citrus and sesame. The palate is textural, phenolic, and expansive but there is a backbone of acidity which keeps the wine tense and energetic. The fruit profile is a real joy, jumping from ripe mango and apricot to lemons and limes.
Corney & Barrow Score 18+
Recommended drinking from 2024–2032