2019 Mira Winery Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Carneros 750 ml

Hyde Vineyards proudly proclaims itself the "King of Carneros"—and they can back it up. It’s one of the oldest and most important vineyards in the windy hills between Napa and Sonoma, where fog and cool breezes allow for long hang times and rich, vibrant fruit. It’s a site that has earned its status as California royalty.

Hyde sells grapes to a who's-who list of in-demand producers, including names like Kistler, Paul Hobbs, Aubert, Kongsgaard, Ramey, and DuMol. They have a waiting list a mile long of Napa and Sonoma winemakers who are dying to work with their fruit. The reason? When it comes to farming, nobody babies his vines better than Larry Hyde. 

Founded in 1979, famed Hyde Vineyards is set on gently rolling hills on the Napa side of chilly Carneros. The vineyard blueprint is ingenious, offering each Chardonnay plant optimal southeastern exposure. The soils are poor—meaning vines have to burrow harder and deeper in search of nutrients. The vineyard requires rigorous work, and the payoff is succulent, golden berries of luscious juiciness and a fine acid backbone.

Mira is a favorite under-radar winery that our VP of Wine, Laura Koffer, proudly featured when she was Wine Director at Yountville’s Bottega: “We sold almost every wine they made over the years,” she says. The winery was founded and is helmed by Gustavo Gonzalez, an alum of Ornellaia, Opus One, and Robert Mondavi Winery, where he enjoyed a 17-year tenure as the head red winemaker. Oh, and even though Gonzalez made “perhaps the greatest Tuscan red ever”—the 100-point 2001 Ornellaia Masseto ($1,800)—his touch is golden with white wines as well.

This is a rare chance to get access to hallowed dirt, expert winemaking, and a stellar vintage for a price far below what you’d normally expect. Chardonnay lovers, don’t sleep on this one.