96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
- A light hazy yellow hue, the 2022 Chardonnay Haakon/Lenai Vineyard delivers delicate flint notes along with rocky earth, preserved lemon, bright apples, and concentrated, salty earth. Medium to full-bodied, it has compact intensity, with electricity driving through the palate, and I also love the texture of this wine. Fully dry, with great extract, it has depth and richness without being heavy. It’s a fantastic and age-worthy wine to drink over the next 10-12 years.
95 Points - International Wine Report
- The 2022 Haakon/Lenai Chardonnay from Purple Hands goes through full malolactic fermentation and is aged for 10 months in 30% new French oak barrels, 30% neutral, and 40% stainless steel tank. Presenting a light, moving to medium, lemon core with a silvery rim in the glass, it sports stunning aromas and flavors of green melon, yellow pear, white wildflowers, crushed wet stones, and shades of creme brulée. Medium-bodied, with a rounded texture, a supple mouthfeel, and a well-managed spiciness on the finish, it’s a wonderful Chardonnay that will drink well over the next 7-8 years.
93 Points - Wine Enthusiast
- This lemon-scented and mineral-driven Chardonnay has an additional aroma that I can't resist—lavender butter. The flavors are downright tropical, with macadamia nuts, lemon cookies and a dusting of coconut. The wine's texture is smooth and easy, with restrained acidity and a lengthy finish.
93 Points - Decanter
- Lean and angular with great mineral salinity and smoky grilled citrus aromas, this Chardonnay is from the Purple Hands organic estate site, planted in 1998—aromatics of grilled lemon peel, lemon grass and crushed slate alongside saline notes of sea breeze. The palate is bright and flashy, with piquant lemon verbena flavours, lemon drop candies, and cardamom spice, which finish the wine with bright, mouthwatering acidity
92 Points - Wine Spectator
- Precise and handsomely structured, with attractive flavors of pear and apple that take on orange peel and spice tones. Drink now. 484 cases made.
92 Points - James Suckling
- This is spicy and cedary with ripe stone fruit, walnuts and pie crust. Polished and textured with a medium to full body and mineral undertones. Layered and structured with a lingering, even finish. Drink or hold.
