The 1993 Chardonnay Gauer Ranch Upper Barn is even more flamboyant and flattering than the exquisite1993 Chardonnay Lorenzo Vineyard. It reveals some of the smokiness of the Lorenzo cuvee, but it emphasizes the floral side of Chardonnay fruit, with plenty of honey as well as attractive, well-integrated oak to go along with its layered, sharply focused, full-bodied richness and power. The three 1993 Marcassin Chardonnays are profoundly complex, rich, super-concentrated Chardonnays that are neither heavy nor flabby. Bottled without fining or filtration, they are all extraordinary examples of this varietal. I utilize nearly all of my allocation each year in blind tastings with Burgundy experts, placing the Marcassin wines in vinous confrontations with France's greatest Montrachets, Chevalier-Montrachets, Batard-Montrachets, and Corton-Charlemagnes. Most of the time the Marcassin wines run away with top honors from other tasters who are admitted Burgundy wine fanatics. There are no secrets to Marcassin's success. Low yields, a non-interventionist winemaking philosophy that eschews any type of processing in favor of wild yeasts, and no acidification, fining, or filtration combine in a magical manner to produce intense wines of razor sharp clarity and complexity. I have saved my most exemplary praise for Helen Turley who, along with her husband, John Wetlaufer, are the proprietors of Marcassin. Her 1993 Chardonnays, which are as extraordinary as the 1992s and 1991s, have just been released, but readers should not expect to find any of these wines on retailer's shelves as they are mainly sold via the winery's mailing list (although rumor has it that the New York City eateries, Montrachet and Le Bernadin, carry the wine). Tel. (707) 942-0158

The 1993 Chardonnay Gauer Ranch Upper Barn is even more flamboyant and flattering than the exquisite1993 Chardonnay Lorenzo Vineyard. It reveals some of the smokiness of the Lorenzo cuvee, but it emphasizes the floral side of Chardonnay fruit, with plenty of honey as well as attractive, well-integrated oak to go along with its layered, sharply focused, full-bodied richness and power.The three 1993 Marcassin Chardonnays are profoundly complex, rich, super-concentrated Chardonnays that are neither heavy nor flabby. Bottled without fining or filtration, they are all extraordinary examples of this varietal. I utilize nearly all of my allocation each year in blind tastings with Burgundy experts, placing the Marcassin wines in vinous confrontations with France's greatest Montrachets, Chevalier-Montrachets, Batard-Montrachets, and Corton-Charlemagnes. Most of the time the Marcassin wines run away with top honors from other tasters who are admitted Burgundy wine fanatics. There are no secrets to Marcassin's success. Low yields, a non-interventionist winemaking philosophy that eschews any type of processing in favor of wild yeasts, and no acidification, fining, or filtration combine in a magical manner to produce intense wines of razor sharp clarity and complexity. I have saved my most exemplary praise for Helen Turley who, along with her husband, John Wetlaufer, are the proprietors of Marcassin. Her 1993 Chardonnays, which are as extraordinary as the 1992s and 1991s, have just been released, but readers should not expect to find any of these wines on retailer's shelves as they are mainly sold via the winery's mailing list (although rumor has it that the New York City eateries, Montrachet and Le Bernadin, carry the wine). Tel. (707) 942-0158