It has an aroma of red fruits such as pomegranate, cherry, and cranberry, as well as nuances of rose, lavender, sandalwood, and Indian spices.
On the palate, the aroma of red fruits intensifies, with impressions of blood orange and tobacco.
Smooth tannins lead to a long, complex finish.
We recommend decanting 1-2 hours before drinking.
Grapes: de Brye, Sessions and Ambassador's 1953 Vineyards Average vine age: 23 years Production: 100% Estate (own vineyard, own production, own bottling) Primary fermentation: Cold soaking: 5 days Maximum fermentation temperature: 29-31°C Fermentation: 10-18 days Total bunches: 8% About this vintage Early spring was warm with some well-timed rain.
The summer was unusually free of heat waves, which extended the growing season.
Perhaps due to the small harvests of the past two years, 2012 produced very fine, densely packed grapes.
To prevent a decline in quality, we carried out multiple green harvests to control the grape yield and concentration.
This historic winery was founded in 1953 by James D. Zellerbach, who was the U.S. ambassador to Italy after World War II and was involved in the European economic recovery plan.
During his tenure as ambassador, Zellerbach became fascinated with European wines and dreamed of creating a California wine that could rival the wines of Burgundy's top domaines.
He hired chemist Brad Webb as the first winemaker and Ivan Skok as head viticulturist, and they successfully produced world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Zellerbach passed away in 1963, and Hansel Vineyards was sold to the Days in 1965.
It is a little-known fact that during this two-year gap, Hansel's wines from the 1961 and 1962 vintages were sold as Heights Cellars wines.
In 1973, Bob Sessions was appointed head brewer.
He would continue to make the elegant, Hansel-style wines established by the original winemaking team for the next 28 years.
In 1975, Countess Barbara de Bry, an Australian living in London, purchased Hansel, and since 1991 her son, Alexander de Bry, has been at the helm of the winery.
In 2006, Michael McNeill was appointed as the fourth generation winemaker, a position he continues to hold today.
The winery's winemaking facilities, located at the heart of the estate, were commissioned by the company's founder, Mr. Zellerbach, a member of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tartevin, to be modeled after the Chateau Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy.
The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines that were planted around it at that time are still producing healthy grapes today.
Chardonnay is known as the oldest vineyard in North America, having been in continuous production since 1953, and Pinot Noir is also known as the oldest vineyard in North America.
The winery's name, "Hanzell," is a combination of "Zell," part of the founder Zellerbach's surname, and his wife's name, "Hana."
At Hansel, we believe that the grapes in the vineyard tell the whole story, so we try to have as little involvement as possible in the winemaking process.
Known for producing very elegant and delicate wines, the Chardonnay is aged sparingly in French oak barrels and only partly in MLF.
In order to bring out the delicate aroma of Pinot Noir, we put it through a long cold soaking process and age about 50% of the wine in new French oak barrels.
Known for its long-term aging, Hansel wines develop complex flavors and deep aromas through bottle aging that can never be artificially created.
The true potential of Hansel's wines can only be unlocked through this bottle ageing.
We always decant young wines, as well as bottle-aged Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, to bring out the maximum flavor and aroma.
A former member of In Pursuit of Balance (IPOB), a once-popular organization in California dedicated to the pursuit of well-balanced Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the winery is renowned for producing elegant, vibrant wines reminiscent of Europe.