2004 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay (Library Wines) -- Tandem Winery Shopping Cart -- Chardonnay Vineyard Ritchie 2004

<H1>2004 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay -- Tandem Winery Shopping Cart</H1> $42.00 <IMG SRC="https://store.nexternal.com/tandem/images/04RitchChardlabel.JPG" ALIGN=right ALT="2004 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay" NAME="2004 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay" BORDER=0 HSPACE=10> Kent Ritchie is a veteran of the Sonoma Chardonnay scene – from bad times to good; Kent has seen the cycles that Chardonnay has undergone in our county. His vineyard is also a veteran, having been one of the first Chard vineyards planted in the Russian River Valley. We are proud to have been one of the first to discover this viticultural treasure and to have spread the word to our friends and cohorts in the winemaking biz. We are also pleased that, even though Kent has now attained the status of Rock Star in the Chardonnay grower world, he still continues our long hand-shake relationship and works closely with Tandem to produce what have in the last few years been regarded as some of the best white wines in America. What is even more gratifying to us as parents raising kids in West Sonoma County is the work Kent’s sons have now been putting in the vineyard to make this a family concern. Thank you, Kent Ritchie family! Tasting notes: The characteristic deep, rich scents of the Ritchie Vineyard greet one with the first aromas from the glass. Flavors continue to develop to tropical fruit and ripe guava, along with hints of citrus blossoms. On the palate the theme of richness continues with layered textures and generous, spreading mouthfeel that lead into a late palate of tropical fruit and spice. Late tannins are just present enough to suggest that this wine will have the backbone to age well for several years. Technical Data: • Vineyard: First planted in the late 1960s, most of the oldest vines have been pulled out. There are plenty of veteran vines still on AXR from the early 1970s, including right across the road from Kistler’s Splan Vineyard that are still fully productive and showing no signs of Phylloxera. Kent has taken cuttings from the original 3 clones of Wente, Robert Young and See (Musque) clones that were scattered throughout the site and propagated pure strains of each which we will be showcasing in our 2005 vintage. • Harvest: early September saw the earliest pick of the Ritchie Vineyard ever, a week earlier than the 2003 record. We were still the last to pick in Kent’s vineyard. Brix ranged from 23.8 on the old hilltop vines to 25.1 with the new plantings in the lower, more fertile areas. • Fermentation (100% wild 1o/ 2o): 2 of the 3 lots picked went through indigenous fermentation without a hitch, but our 3rd lot struggled mightily. This effort produced some of the most richly-textured wine we have seen from this vineyard to date. We elected an early assemblage to allow the yeast from the other fermentations to help reach dryness. The result was dryness by March of 2005 with that characteristic “rich Ritchie” texture. • Barrel aging: This year we chose to choke up a bit more on new wood, conducting approximately 1/3 of the aging in new French Oak as well as a bit of Eastern European oak to check the flavor characteristics. Wine was aged sur lies with battonage conducted once a month until May of 2005. The wine was then allowed to settle naturally, racked clean in-place and settled chilled in stainless steel for 8 weeks before bottling. • Bottling: 580 cases were bottled unfined and unfiltered. o pH: 3.32 o TA: 6.43 g/L o 14.1% alcohol o Appellation: Russian River Valley <LI>SKU: 04CHRV Other products in the category <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/tandem/Category5" TITLE="Library Wines">Library Wines</A>: <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/tandem/Product32 TITLE="2004 Hellenthal Pinot noir">2004 Hellenthal Pinot noir</A> -- Limited <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/tandem/Product33 TITLE="2004 Peloton Red Wine">2004 Peloton Red Wine</A> -- Limited <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/tandem/Product13 TITLE="2003 van der Kamp Pinot noir">2003 van der Kamp Pinot noir</A> -- 91 POINTS - The Wine Enthusiast <LI><A HREF=http://www.nexternal.com/tandem/Product5 TITLE="2003 Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir, Green Valley">2003 Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir, Green Valley</A> -- ONE OF THE BEST PINOT NOIRS - Sunset Magazine <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com/tandem" TITLE="Tandem Winery Products">Tandem Winery Products</A> <A HREF="http://www.tandemwinery.com">Tandem Winery</A> Tandem Winery <A HREF="http://www.nexternal.com" TITLE="ecommerce software">ecommerce software</A> powered by Nexternal