95pts James Suckling

Sliced apples, honey, pie crust, and lightly poached pears on the nose, followed by a full body with layers of fruit and a tangy fresh acidity from lemon and lime notes. Hints of stone and flint. Complex chardonnay. From Wente clone planted in the late 1990s. Drink now.

Winemaker Notes

The Ritchie Vineyard is one of the most storied Chardonnay sites in Russian River Valley. Driving through the vineyard is a who’s who of top wineries vine markers buying this amazing site’s fruit. The 2021 vintage has performed really well and I would easily put it on par with the 2020 vintage (95 points from James Suckling). We are striving to strike a balance between the warm, rounded ripeness that this site likes to display and clean, structure/refreshing elements that are the signature of Maritana Vineyards Chardonnays. I love the Kent Ritchie Vineyard and this wine is packed with all the delicious citrus-floral character that the Russian River Valley is famous for - drink now through 2031 - no kidding, this kind of Chardonnay becomes even more graceful and complex with bottle age.