Walter Scott Freedom Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2021 (750ML)

97 JD / 97 DE / 95+ WA / 95 VM / 94 WE

Golden in appearance, the 2021 Chardonnay Freedom Hill Vineyard is also reductive and needs time or decanting, but it’s lush with a floral perfume of jasmine, wild citrus and key lime, and pristine candied green apple. Medium-bodied with a pithy texture, it offers notes of dusty earth and is packed with lime fruit and salt. It has margarita-like freshness and drive. Drink 2025-2035.-Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck

A stunning wine from the iconic Freedom Hill vineyard in the Mount Pisgah AVA. It balances savoury brilliance with finely etched seaspray minerality. A reductive, smoky flint aromatic opens and morphs into saline notes, beeswax and petrichor alongside a grilled lemon peel note. The palate walks a razor's edge of oyster shell minerality, savoury grilled salt, and beeswax notes. Powerful, beautiful and undeniably full of joy-Clive Pursehouse, Decanter

2021 saw a particularly smooth, eventless growing season that allowed growers to pick at their leisure—Ken Pahlow says he pushed back the harvest date four times as mild weather allowed the grapes to ripen without spikes in sugar or drops in acidity. The 2021 Chardonnay Freedom Hill Vineyard has opened significantly since I last tasted it in October of 2023, though it still wears characteristic, flinty reduction and requires plenty of air to reveal deeper tones of peach, green guava, tangerine, honey and exotic, herbal undertones. The palate features concentrated flavors and a weightless feel due to its silky texture and vibrant acidity. It's a wine that offers generosity and precision and it will be long lived.--Erin Brooks, The WIne Advocate

The 2021 Chardonnay Freedom Hill Vineyard opens with a dusty bouquet, blending young peach, kiwi skins, ground ginger nuances, sage and wet stone. Silky, medium-weight textures wash across the palate, taking on a stern mineral inflection as juicy acidity enlivens its tart orchard fruits. The 2021 tapers off remarkably fresh, nearly crispy in feel with a floral thrust and lingering saline tinge. The Freedom Hill is a crowd-pleaser but should not be overlooked by the more serious collectors because this beauty is built to age. -- Eric Guido, Vinous Media

Roasted pear and toasted filbert aromas match nicely with wee notes of butter and piney juniper berries. Vibrant acidity and a crisp texture underscore tangy quince, lemon, fennel and sage tea flavors. This is a lithe and lively Chardonnay with an enduring finish. — Michael Alberty, Wine Enthusiast