Arista Winery Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay 2019 – 750ml Breakthru

97pts Jeb Dunnuck

The 2019 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is savory with fresh pine, lemon, and crushed stone. Its great concentration and full-bodied richness give way to a stony finish with notes of orange oil, pineapple, and spice. Drink it over the next 15 or more years.

95pts Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

Unlike the fruit-forward 2020, the 2019 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard still needs time to unwind. The nose is reminiscent of matchstick to begin, but with air, it gives way to perfumed white peach, chamomile and beeswax. Satiny, seamless and long, the medium-bodied palate offers a crescendo of fragrant stone fruit and flinty sparks and a youthful touch of grip on the finish.

93pts Vinous

The 2019 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard offers up an enticing mélange of white flowers, orchard fruit, mint and sage, along with light tropical inflections that add an exotic flair. Layered and exquisite in its beauty, the 2019 is the highlight in this flight of Chardonnays from Arista. By An onio Goho n on June 2022

93pts Wine Spectator
Not shy on either richness or complexity, with showy spiced baked apple, candied ginger peel and dried orange zest flavors that show touches of dried pineapple and marmalade, all with vibrant acidity that keeps the flavors bright and focused. Drink now through 2030. 213 cases made.

Winemaker Notes

The 2019 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay is easily the most graceful edition of this wine we have ever made. With its south-facing aspect in the center of the Russian River Valley appellation, Ritchie Vineyard is known for producing broad, expansive, wildly expressive wines. By capturing and controlling that natural tendency of the vineyard, we can achieve the best of both worlds: a wine with intrinsic richness but also freshness and balance. Reticent at first, the wine opens up to reveal classic Chardonnay notes of toasted brioche, vanilla, sweet cream, and lemon candy. The incredible mouthfeel is a trademark of Ritchie vineyard, and the 2019 vintage is totally on-brand: This wine builds in intensity on the palate over the course of a minute-long finish, culminating in a silky amalgamation of toasted almond, caramelized sugar, and poached peach