Wine Producing Countries

wines

The 2022 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is compelling and exotic! Aromas of Hawaiian flowers, crème brûlée, stone fruit preserves and quince paste pour from the glass in fragrant waves. The full-bodied palate offers unparalleled depth of flavor, and its richness is complemented by a luxurious, satiny texture. It’s seamlessly balanced by vibrant, shimmery acidity and has an epically long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPThe 2022 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is a bright yellow/silver hue and offers more tropical richness, shining with notes of salted pineapple, white peach, and honeyed citrus. The palate is rich and keeps a good deal of reined-in energy; it naturally goes big. It has opulence and hedonism but is so well balanced. Drink 2025-2037.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDLemon sorbet, mango puree and pineapple flavors are fleshy, expressive and generous on a supple and juicy frame. Details of orange zest, lemon blossoms and fresh grated ginger add some aromatic zing, with lemon verbena and jasmine blossoms lingering. Drink now. 300 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThe 2022 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is a very pretty wine, although it is on the lighter side texturally. Dried citrus peel, chamomile, almonds, crushed flowers and herbs confer a decidedly savory profile. It’s all about understatement here.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Named after the owner’s first daughter, the 2023 Chardonnay Paige Cuvée is absolutely stunning and shows the incredible quality this site can achieve. Based on 100% Chardonnay and aged 16 months in 45% new French oak, it offers ripe orchard fruits, orange zest, mint, and white flowers in its incredibly impressive, complex, nuanced profile. It’s medium-bodied, with a concentrated, layered mouthfeel, integrated oak, and a salty finish. This is magical stuff that should evolve beautifully over the coming decade. Drink 2025-2035.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDLarry and MaryAnn Moone began producing this wine in 2015. The site is defined by its fabulous Goldridge soils and excellent drainage. The fruit is whole-cluster pressed, cold settled, and fermented and aged in Burgundy-style French oak barrels for roughly 16 months, with 45% new French oak and extended ageing sur lie. No malolactic fermentation is carried out. The wine is wonderfully expressive and focused, driven by a saline acid tension and a mineral profile of white pepper and white ash. Loads of citrus fruit and zest unfurl alongside lemon curd, with subtle tropical notes of underripe pineapple and white peach, framed by delicate white-floral tones. The finish is long, juicy and vibrantly expressive.Decanter Magazine | 95 DECThe 2023 Chardonnay Paige Cuvée Ritchie Vineyard is rich, ample and effusive. Tropical fruit, apricot, white flowers and tangerine peel give the 2023 its decidedly exotic feel. Although quite rich in its flavor profile, the 2023 is relatively light on its feet texturally. This fruit was picked on October 4. Stylistically, it’s a pretty rich Chardonnay. Time in the glass tempers some of that richness as the acids emerge.Vinous Media | 94 VM

The 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is elegant and expressive! Quince and white peach are accented by wafts of matchstick, elderflower, Greek yogurt and crème brûlée. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with concentrated, nuanced flavors delivered in a silky texture. Vibrant acidity adds compelling tension, and it has a very long, elegant finish. It should be long lived in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is classy, elegant and polished. Soft contours and lifted aromatics convey total finesse. Orchard fruit, lemon confit, marzipan, white flowers, mint, white pepper and acacia are all very nicely lifted. This is an especially refined rendition of Hyde.Vinous Media | 95 VM

This wine is truly excellent, showing a mineral-edged nose with pure energy and tension. Aromas of struck match, citrus blossoms, crushed stones and salted nuts. The palate is taut, with no hard edges and driving acidity that keeps you salivating for minutes. Closing in on perfection. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2023 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is airy, gracious and understated. It’s a wine of restraint, even for this house. Seamless and elegant in the glass, the Hyde is exquisitely finessed. Today, the 2023 is rather quiet, but time in bottle should help this really blossom. Aeration brings out the wine’s mid-palate oiliness and texture. The Hyde was aged 70% in barrel, 20% in foudre and 10% in concrete. The precision here is unreal.Vinous Media | 96 VMAn impressive white, with toasted fennel seed, honeysuckle, Opal apple and white peach flavors that are generous and plump, plus a drizzle of clover honey, salted toffee, lemon meringue and salted, toasted brioche. The fruit flavors take over on the finish, expanding in different directions with plenty of oomph and intensity. Drink now through 2036. 2,700 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A driving force of appetizing acidity powers this full-bodied, brilliant, elegant and intricate wine. It offers mineral and citrus flavors in equal measure, starting with a lot of fresh lemon and lime zest aromas, then richer baked apple, lemon blossom and brown butter flavors. Feels so focused, linear and alive. Drink now or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSThe 2023 Chardonnay La Carrière has intoxicating scents of white peach, grilled grapefruit and Meyer lemon plus nuances of flint, vanilla, panna cotta and lemongrass. The full-bodied palate is silky and expressive with energetic layers of flinty citrus and stone fruit. It offers high concentration for its elegant frame, and its oak spice is seamlessly integrated. It’s balanced by bright, focused acidity and has a long, dynamic finish. 2,478 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2023 Chardonnay La Carrière is wonderfully exuberant right out of the gate. Apricot, white flowers, tangerine peel, truffle, mint and lightly honeyed overtones all build in the glass. La Carrière is defined by striking mid-palate resonance and texture. It’s another gorgeous wine in this range from Peter Michael. These are the lowest-yielding Chardonnay vines on the property.Vinous Media | 95 VMFrench for “The Quarry,” the 2023 Chardonnay La Carriere comes from a steep site with a 45-degree slope and rocky, poor soils. It boasts a bright yellow color with a light haze (they don’t fine or filter), and the nose lifts with flinty wet stones, fresh pineapple, lemon curd, citrus blossoms, and an elegant, rounded vanilla perfume. The palate is medium to full-bodied and offers a silky texture, with an elegant, floating feel and delicate savory notes of Marcona almond on the finish. Drink 2026-2038.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDThere’s an appealingly dense fleshiness to the peach and apricot flavors at the core, plus a touch of salted melon and a hint of salted toffee. Vanilla bean and shortbread details emerge on the finish, along with candied citrus peel. Drink now through 2036. 2,478 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Sourced from Pisoni Vineyard and brought up 16 months in 60% new French oak, the 2023 Chardonnay East Of Eden Pisoni Vineyard is light to medium gold-hued and offers exotic stone fruits, honeyed melon, spice, and some minty, herbal notes. Medium to full-bodied, it has a pure, layered crystalline mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a fabulous finish. It’s a rich, powerful, serious Chardonnay that will keep for 8-10 years. Drink 2025-2035.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2023 Chardonnay Pisoni Vineyard East of Eden is notably fresh for a Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands, where Chardonnay can tend to lack energy. A wine of deep mineral intensity and phenolic grip, the 2023 speaks firmly, with powerful inner tension and nerve lends a ton of textural intrigue. Lemony, chalky lift enlivens the finish. Another excellent 2023 white from Paul Lato.Vinous Media | 94 VM