Kent Ritchie has owned and farmed his namesake vineyard since the early 1970s. The vineyard is located just off of River Road at the intersection of Eastside Road and Trenton Road in the Russian River Valley. This location is unique because it sits on a bench at the confluence of the Russian River, the Santa Rosa Plain and the Laguna de Santa Rosa, each of which influences the vineyard’s terroir. The site’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean exposes it to the cooling effects of the coastal fog, yet at the same time the vineyard’s location allows for ample sunlight once the fog has burned off around noon. Ritchie Vineyard is composed of well-drained, sandy Goldridge soil, ideal for growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Finally, the vineyard is planted predominately to the Old Wente selection of Chardonnay which is highly coveted for its low yields and ability to produce an intensely flavored and aromatic wine. Kent Ritchie is truly a great guy and this is truly one of the grand vineyards of the Russian River Valley. It’s an honor to work with such an iconic vineyard.

2014 was our second full year of drought in the North Coast, and not surprisingly, the growing season was dry and warm. Everything was early in 2014: Dry soils and mild spring weather resulted in one of the earliest initiations of budbreak we’ve seen in years. That trend continued throughout the season, as we stayed several weeks ahead of average all the way through the onset of harvest in mid-August.

Cold grapes arrive at the winery early in the morning after having been picked at night. If necessary, the clusters are sorted by hand and then gently transferred as whole clusters directly into our press. The grapes will undergo an extremely gentle press cycle lasting three to four hours. The slow, gentle-press cycle allows us to extract the flavorful juice from the grapes yet mitigates the extraction of bitter tannins resulting from damaged or broken seeds and stems. The sweet, fresh juice is then transferred to a stainless-steel tank and allowed to settle overnight. From the settling tank, the juice is moved to 60-gallon French oak barrels. Once in barrel, fermentation is allowed to occur naturally using native yeast that come in from our vineyards. We do not inoculate any of our wines, white or red, with industrial strains of yeast for primary or secondary fermentation. Fermentations build very slowly over the first few months due to the fragile and complex nature of native yeast. Limited battonage is used during the first two to three months of fermentation in order to encourage the development of a healthy yeast population. Once fermentation is safely underway the wine is not disturbed until the fermentation is complete. It is critical to not move or disturb the fermenting wine during this time in order to allow gravity to being clarifying the wine. It is not uncommon for primary and secondary fermentation to take 10-plus months. Once the wines have fully completed fermentation, normally about 10 to 11 months, final blends are assembled and the wine is gently racked to stainless-steel tanks. This time in stainless steel is key as it allows the young, newly blended wines to begin to knit together and further allows for a second clarification by gravity. Time in stainless steel typically is four to six months. At the end of this period, approximately 16 to 18 months in total, the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

The 2014 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay is a rich, layered wine that showcases the quality of this Russian River Valley grand cru vineyard. On the nose, the wine displays aromas of wet granite, brioche, orange blossom, lemon oil, grilled pineapple and baking spices. On the palate, the wine is silky and rich, with notes of pear nectar, lemon butter, mango and panna cotta. The wine has an intensity that builds on the palate for several seconds, peaking with a stony mineral note. This Chardonnay has incredible density and length, with layers of flavors unfolding on the palate for a full minute. Peak drinking window: 2017 through 2027.