Estate Chardonnay

Ridge produced its first Chardonnay in 1962 from fullymature vines planted in the late 1940s on the Monte Bello estate vineyard. Several great vintages showed that the cool climate and fractured limestone sub-soils were well suited to the variety. By 1985, the old vines were producing less then a half-ton per acre and were taken out. The younger vines, planted in the ‘70s, provide the majority of grapes today. Initially these newer plantings were on the “lower” vineyard—not yet farmed as part of the Monte Bello estate— so the wine was called “Santa Cruz Mountains”. Since 2009 the wine has been designated Ridge Estate Chardonnay.

Rains in March and April helped the vines get through the summer. Harvest was just about to start when heat and fireshit in August, necessitating careful selection from the Santa Cruz vineyards. The grapes were hand-harvested between 22 August and 14 September, then whole-cluster pressed and barrel-fermented with natural yeast, in 80% air-dried American oak and 20% French oak barrels, with 15% new wood. The wine was aged for a total of 14 months in barrel, during which time it completed malolactic fermentation.

Winemaker note:
Harvested over a three-week period, all of the grapes were immediately pressed as whole clusters and sent to barrel to ferment. After completing primary and secondary fermentation, eleven lots from the Klein and Rousten vineyards were assembled and then returned to barrel to age for five more months prior to bottling. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is enjoyable upon release and over the next five to six years.