94 Points: Wine & Spirits

91 Points: Virginie Boone Wine Enthusiast - November 2018

"Olive, fig and candied lemon peel provide an exotic complexity to this vineyard-designate, from the famous sandy Goldridge soil-site in Occidental. Salty oak and sea spray add a minerality that's welcome against a full-bodied palate flecked in tart, light acidity."

91 Points: Wine Spectator

The vineyard’s 40-year-old vines were planted using wide spacing during an era when larger tractors dictated that plenty of room be provided to perform the farming work. The large, sprawling Clone 4 Chardonnay vines are trained using quadrilateral trellising on AXR rootstock. Sandy Goldridge soils provide the vines fertile ground for strong growth. 2016 had early an bud break, but cool temperatures in August slowed down the harvest leading to beautifully developed flavors and long hangtime. Harvested by hand, this fruit arrived at the winery healthy and ripe on September 30th, 2016.

Charles Heintz has been growing premium Chardonnay grapes for decades. His namesake vineyard is located in the westernmost part of the Russian River Valley and is therefore our coolest climate site. Charlie himself has said, “It’s like growing Chardonnay in a rain cloud out here.”

• composition:

  100% Chardonnay

• alcohol: 14.50%
• bottling date: 08/16/2017
• aging:

  Aged 10 months sur lee in French oak, 20% new, and 40% one-year-old

• fermentation:

  Whole cluster pressed then racked into French oak for primary and malolactic fermentation

93 Points: Wine Spectator

The 2016 growing season was a stellar vintage. Concentrated flavors developed early in the year at a low harvest Brix. We harvested early on August 22nd, 2016. This captured the crisp fruit and mineral qualities this unique site offers.

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 Wente Selection Chardonnay. Situated on gently rolling hills, the soil is sandy loam with striations of sandstone. The famous clockwork fog of the Russian River Valley keeps this vineyard cool and provides ideal conditions for growing a classic expression of Chardonnay.

• composition:

  100% Chardonnay

• alcohol: 14.5%
• bottling date: 08/15/2017
• aging:

  Aged 11 months in French oak, 18% new

• fermentation:

  Whole cluster pressed then racked into French oak for primary and malolactic fermentation

92 Points: Robert Parker Wine Advocate

91 Points: Wine Enthusiast

The 2016 vintage had early bud break and an aggressive growing season. Then just when we were about to pick, cool temperatures in August slowed everything down. Grapes were picked from five distinct blocks planted to five different clones: 95, 76, 4, 17, and 15. Each block had a unique harvest picking date between September 13th and 28th, 2016.

The grapes for this Chardonnay came exclusively from Wildcat Mountain Vineyard, owned by Steve MacRostie and his partners Nancy and Tony Lilly. At Wildcat, the vines dig into the sparse volcanic soil and stand firm against the strong winds that race in off of the Pacific Ocean most afternoons. This fog-shrouded mountaintop vineyard is a classic Sonoma Coast site. Cool and challenging, it yields wines of great distinction.

• composition:

  100% Chardonnay

• alcohol: 14.80%
• bottling date: 08/16/2017
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 22% new

• fermentation:

  Whole cluster pressed then racked into French oak for primary and malolactic fermentation