Winemaker's Notes
From what I consider one of the prime Chardonnay neighborhoods of the Russian River Valley, I am grateful for the two dozen years of working with Don and Patricia Helfer and this tiny site.
One finds lemon curd, orange zest, roasted grains and brioche on the nose. The latter two aspects probably come from the lengthy time on lees in barrel, the way high end sparkling wines are aged on the lees in bottle before disgorging. Very smooth and sexy, there is a seamless transition of these characters in the mouth that caress the palate for a very long finish and persistence that would be annoying if it wasn’t so tasty.
Judi Scherrer –
International Wine Review – November 2021
Yellow gold. Complex nose of honeyed lemon, mature apple, and baking spice. Full, concentrated, and ripe on the palate with a silky mouth feel and a crisp but persistent, dense aftertaste. A lovely, complete Chardonnay. Mostly the Hyde selection (obtained via Kistler) sourced from the Helfer Vineyard, slowly pressed and fermented in barrel with ambient yeast then aged up to two years in about 40% new French oak with a long spontaneous malo conversion and almost no stirring of the lees. 93 points. Don Winkler
Judi Scherrer –
Vinous – July 2021
The 2018 Chardonnay Helfer Vineyard, from a site in Russian River Valley, is wonderfully distinctive. Apricot, tangerine oil, mint, sage and almond lend quite a bit of aromatic and flavor complexity. Intensely mineral and phenolic, the Helfer has a ton going on. 92 points. Antonio Galloni