Hess Collection The Lioness Chardonnay 2022

A complex, structured and extravagant wine that's rich in baked fruit, spicy oak, butter and vanilla on the nose. Full of creme brulee, lemon curd, lime zest and toasted almond flavors. All barrel fermented and aged in 50% new French oak. So layered, ripe and bold, with a smooth, viscous texture and a lingering finish. But fresh too, with good acidity and a pH of 3.4. Drink now or hold.

The Lioness represents Hess's biggest, boldest style of Chardonnay. The 2017 Chardonnay The Lioness was aged 18 months in 50% new French oak with lees stirring and was bottled unfiltered. Fruit comes from the Hess Estate in south Napa. It gives up gregarious scents of mangoes, pineapple tart, peach cobbler and acacia honey with nuances of lime blossoms, spice cake and toasted almonds. Big, concentrated and sporting tons of exotic fruit and savory/nutty layers, the creamy texture is beautifully offset by a wicked backbone of freshness and a fantastically long finish. Yum! Only 1,500 cases were made.

Lots of honeyed orchard fruits, lemon curd, and spicy, toasty notes emerge from the 2022 Chardonnay The Lioness, a fleshy, exotic, mouth-filling Chardonnay with plenty of textbook California Chardonnay character. It's best drunk over the coming couple of years.