2010 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard

One of the brighter wines in the range, the 2010 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is laced with sweet floral notes and a bevy of green orchard fruit. There is a linearity and focus in the Ritchie that is highly appealing. Sweet floral notes reappear on the finish, adding considerable brightness and lift. The 2010 Ritchie is one of the most refined Chardonnays in the range. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018. It is always fascinating to sit down with Paul Hobbs and his winemaker Megan Baccitich, as these Chardonnays and Pinots run the gamut of styles, clones and sites in Sonoma. According to Hobbs, the 2010 harvest was two weeks later than normal, while 2011 was three weeks later than normal! One of the other main differences is that temperatures increased toward the end of 2010, but stayed very much on the cool side in 2011. My impression is that when all is said and done, vintage 2011 will turn out to be superior to 2010 for this range. As always, the Hobbs house style does a very nice job of capturing both textural richness and plenty of site specificity. Tel. (707) 824-9879

The 2010 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard shows terrific energy, cut and focus, with bright shades of lemon, flowers, mint and crushed rocks. It is a beautifully delineated, energetic Chardonnay to drink over the next few years.