2017 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay
Pure, fragrant aromas of green apple and honey dew melon frame this delicious wine as a classic Russian River Chardonnay. Acacia honey and Meyer lemon peel meld with cinnamon butter cookie and peach flavors. The wine is crisp and elegant, while very flavorful and rich, it stays light on the palate with mouth-watering acidity and a fresh, lingering finish.
The 2017 growing kicked off with record rainfall, a welcome addition after almost five years of drought. In the early spring the weather began to clear, and the growing season began to look up with sunny and warm conditions. Around flowering, weather conditions started to oscillate between foggy and windy days and unusually hot spikes. This continued into June, where unseasonably hot weather left clusters with small berries and a much lighter crop than predicted. More very hot weather arrived at the end of August and remained for two weeks, causing us to scramble to get the grapes into the winery at ideal ripeness levels. Fortunately, our many farming relationships delivered wonderfully, escaping most of the heat related stresses, delivering perfectly ripe fruit. We started harvest on August 18th with sparkling cuvee and brought our last grapes in on September 27th. When the fires broke out in Napa and Sonoma the night of October 8 we had, fortunately, already picked all of our grapes.
With its beautiful old vines nestled on a rolling northwest-facing hillside, Kent Ritchie Vineyard has established a reputation as one of the Russian River Valley’s finest winegrowing sites. Originally planted in 1972, Kent Ritchie Vineyard features classic sandy Goldridge soils on a sloping benchland that lead to the Russian River—qualities that yield complex and concentrated wines with excellent natural acidity. The grapes from this wine come from our favorite block of Wente clone Chardonnay at the top of the hill.
100% Whole-cluster pressed
100% Burgundian French oak barrels (32% new; 68% 1-2-year old) – 10 months
Bottled without filtration to preserve the wine’s aromas and flavors and enhance aging potential
- Type:
- White
- Varietal:
- Chardonnay
- Region:
- California
- Appellation:
- Russian River Valley
- Vintage:
- 2017
- Blend:
- 100% Chardonnay fruit
- Aging:
- Sur lie aged with weekly stirring
- Alcohol:
- 14.2
- Fermentation:
- 100% indigenous yeast fermentation (wild); 100% malo-lactic fermentation in barrel