94 Points: Jeb Dunnuck Jeb Dunnuck

"Coming from a single vineyard on the Sonoma Coast, the 2017 Chardonnay Wildcat Mountain Sonoma Coast offers a ripe, masculine bouquet of crushed citrus, salty, marine notes, spice, and ample minerality. It's beautiful on the palate and has medium to full-bodied richness, nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's another beautiful wine from this estate and should keep for 5-7 years."

92+ Points: Erin Brooks Robert Parker Wine Advocate - April 2019

The 2017 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay is scented of delicate citrus blossom and stone to begin, opening to baking bread, spring honey and soft white pit fruit. Light to medium-bodied, it has savory/nutty layers in the mouth balanced by ripe fruit along with refreshing acidity to carry the lively finish.

90 Points: Kim Marcus Wine Spectator - June 2019

A minerally style, with notes of stone and savory spice to the green apple and white berry flavors. Floral hints show on the taut finish.

The 2017 growing season started off as a wet one. Record rainfall through April invigorated the vines and bolstered canopies. Moderate-to-warm temperatures followed, allowing the vines to bloom and mature fruit in a balanced and tempered way. We did apply more leafing in our canopy management to counter the invigorating effects of the rain. All of our Chardonnay blocks were picked prior to the devastating wine country fires in early October, leaving all wine lots free of possible smoke influence. Grapes were picked from three distinct blocks planted to three different clones: 95, 76, and 15. Each block had a unique harvest date between September 14th and 16th, 2017.

Planted by Steve MacRostie in 1998, and located in the cool Petaluma Gap region of the Sonoma Coast, Wildcat Mountain Vineyard possesses an ideal mountain terroir and remarkable volcanic soils that consistently produce fruit with intensity and depth of flavor. Very close to the bay, yet 700 feet above sea level, this vineyard is windy, foggy, cool, and very stingy with its crop levels, which results in exceptional wines. This sustainably-certified vineyard is broken up into 18 different blocks spread across five fields, with a variety of elevations, exposures and soil types. Wildcat’s Chardonnay offers exceptional structure, sophisticated minerality and cool-climate “nerve,” while the Pinot Noir delivers sumptuous color, weight and black fruit character.

• composition:

  100% Chardonnay

• alcohol: 14.60%
• cases made:

  1000 Cases

• bottling date: 08/16/2018
• aging:

  Aged 10 months sur lie in French oak, 20% new

• fermentation:

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

95 Points: Rich Cook Wine Review Online - April 2018

“I really love great Chardonnay, and I’m always surprised at the small percentage of it that rises to this level considering how much of it is out there. Thankfully, I run across wines like this one periodically, wines that demand attention and fly way above the mediocre ocean of its siblings. Gorgeous citrus, tart apple, pear and gentle oak spice ride bold acidity through a blossoming finish that says pay no mind to them – come with me. Brava!”

91 Points: Virginie Boone Wine Enthusiast - May 2018

“This is creamy and lush in vanilla, marshmallow and a healthy helping of toasted oak, yet it evolves in the glass to show undeniable acidity and mineral-laden aspects of dried herb and crushed rock. The finish emphasizes its light-bodied approach.”

The 2015 vintage had very low yields, which led to many vineyards ripening earlier than normal. This was the case at Kent Ritchie, where the vintage’s low yields and the naturally small berry size of the Wente Selection Chardonnay resulted in one of our earliest picks, with harvest occurring on August 21st, 2015.

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%
• cases made:

  13 barrels
  315 cases

• bottling date: 02/14/2017
• aging:

  Aged 15 months sur lie in French oak, 15% new

• fermentation:

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

93 Points: Lisa Perrotti-Brown Robert Parker Wine Advocate - 4/27/18

"The 2015 Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay has a very spicy nose of ginger, nutmeg and allspice over a core of ripe pineapple and honeydew melon plus a touch of brioche. Medium to full-bodied, it packs in the spicy, tropical fruit flavors with a creamy texture and fantastic length. 945 cases produced."

92 Points: Virginie Boone Wine Enthusiast - 5/1/18

"Earthy and slightly sulfurous in big oak, this full-bodied wine manages to grasp handfuls of bright acidity that persists through a wall of powerfully ripe tropical flavor. Aromas and aspects of citrus and white flowers contribute additional freshness. "

The 2015 vintage started with an early budbreak that accelerated the pace of the vintage. We had heat accumulation that added up quickly, which led to an earlier harvest compared to most vintages. Grapes were picked from four distinct blocks planted to four different clones: 95, 76, 4 and 15. Each block had a unique harvest picking date between September 8 and 19.

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: 08/05/2016
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak

• fermentation:

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