2022 Kent Ritchie Vineyard

Chardonnay
Russian River Valley

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About this Wine

This prized site in the Russian River Valley has been farmed for more than 40 years by renowned winegrower Kent Ritchie. The vineyard is planted to the Wente Selection of Chardonnay, which grows on gently rolling hillsides in sandy loam soils with striations of sandstone. This Chardonnay reveals an enticing bouquet of honeysuckle that segues beautifully into creamy and mineral aromas.

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Tasting Notes

Winemaking

Vintage

Vineyard

Tech. Notes

additional notes

Tasting Notes

This Chardonnay reveals an enticing bouquet of honeysuckle that segues beautifully into creamy and mineral aromas. While the palate is luxuriously fruit-forward with a bright energy that lifts the richness, there is an elegance and complexity that rounds out the wine as it builds to a long, focused finish.

Winemaking

To provide a distinct mouthfeel and texture, the harvested grapes were gently pressed as whole clusters. After settling, the juice was racked into French oak barrels for fermentation. The wine spent its entire life in barrel, where it completed primary and secondary malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged on the lees for 18 months, with occasional stirring to increase richness and body. Aging was in 100% once-filled French oak barrels so as not to overpower but to complement the minerality and lean nature of this wine. It was bottled on February 20th, 2024.

Vintage

The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in up to a 10-30% reduction in yields. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. 2022 was a year for vintage-to-vintage variation and differentiation between vineyards. The grapes from this vineyard were picked on August 25th, 2022.

Vineyard

This prized site in the Russian River Valley has been farmed for more than 40 years by renowned winegrower Kent Ritchie. The vineyard is planted to the Wente Selection of Chardonnay, which grows on gently rolling hillsides in sandy loam soils with striations of sandstone. The Russian River Valley’s famous clockwork fog keeps this site cool, providing ideal conditions for growing classically structured Chardonnays.

Technical Notes

composition:
100% Chardonnay
alcohol: 14.6%
cases made:
71 cases
bottling date: 02/20/2024
aging:
Aged on the lees for 18 months sur-lie in French oak; 100% once-filled.
fermentation:
Whole cluster pressed then racked to French oak for primary and malolactic fermentation.

additional notes