2021 Arista Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard

Planted in the mid-1970s on all Goldridge soils, the 2021 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard comes from the highest blocks at the top of this esteemed vineyard and was aged in 40% new French oak barrels. It’s a stunner in the glass, with loads of layered depth and complexity. and it checks a ton of boxes. The nose opens to luxurious aromas of white peach, citrus blossoms, marzipan, wet stone minerality, and citrus oils. Full-bodied, the palate gains fantastic glycerol richness while staying light on its feet, with seamless acidity and a long finish. Its oak spice frames the wine with precision, giving it a refined, polished feel and offering a Grand Cru-esque sensibility. This is an outstanding wine to drink over the coming 10-15 years. Located in the heart of the Russian River Valley, Arista Winery was founded in 2002 by Al and Janis McWilliams, who handed over day-to-day operations to their children, Mark and Ben, in 2012. Today, the winemaking is overseen by esteemed winemaker Matt Courtney, who spent eight years with Marcassin. Additionally, Matt makes wines under his own label, Ferren, and as of this year, Volterre, which readers will find in this report. He holds back an additional year in bottle for both wineries before release. This year, we see the return of the Pinot Noirs in the range, after the estate made the difficult decision not to produce any reds in 2020 due to the effects of the fires. In the cellar, all of the wines are barrel fermented, and fermentation is started with native yeast.

Extremely focused and energetic nose of sliced limes and Meyer lemons with lemongrass. Some stone and hints of flint. Full-bodied with superb density and structure and phenolics that you can feel. It goes on for minutes. Slightly chewy at the end. From Wente clones planted in 1974. Better in three or four years.

The 2021 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is a very pretty, understated wine. Crushed rocks, flowers, mint and white pepper give the Ritchie gorgeous aromatic presence. This is the most ethereal, delicate Chardonnay in the range. I would prefer to see a bit more flesh in the mid-palate.