2021 | Wente Vineyards | Riva Ranch Chardonnay

The 2021 Riva Ranch Vineyard Chardonnay opens with toasty oak aromatics, complemented by fruit notes from baked apple to freshly cut pineapple, melted caramel, and toasted brioche on the palate.

Reviews:

• Wine Enthusiast: Likably tart aromas of lime pith and grapefruit peel are warmed by almond and lifted by spearmint on the nose of this bottling. The palate is rounded in expression, with baked melon, lemon and hazelnut flavors finishing on a flinty note.

• James Suckling: Notes of sliced apples and pineapples with dried herbs, white flowers and raw almond. Medium- to full-bodied with a sleek and juicy mouthfeel. Bright and fruit-forward with fresh acidity.

Producer Information

Wente Vineyards is a California winery located in Livermore, about twenty miles east of the San Francisco Bay. It is one of the oldest family-owned wineries in the United States, and is best known for its Chardonnay, calling itself "California's First Family of Chardonnay". It also gives its name to a series of Chardonnay clones imported from France and propagated on site. C.H. Wente came to the United States from Germany in 1883. After studying at Charles Krug in Napa Valley, he moved to Livermore to start his own winery and, before Prohibition hit in 1920, he had 80 hectares (200 acres) under vine. After Prohibition, his sons Ernest and Herman took over the family business, and in 1936 released the first varietally labelled Chardonnay in California. In 1963, Wente expanded, purchasing 120 hectares (300 acres) in Arroyo Seco in Monterey, making it the first to plant vineyards in the now-prolific region. Today, Wente is run by the fourth and fifth generations of the family. Wente makes a large range of wines divided into four different labels. The Estate Grown range includes several varietal wines made from classic Californian varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Chardonnay. On top of this, the Single Vineyard and Small Lot ranges are a step up in terms of quality, and the Nth Degree range is Wente's most exclusive. As a propagation site of some of California's first Chardonnay cuttings imported from France at the beginning of the 20th Century (and again in the 1990s), the Wente name is regularly encountered across the region's Chardonnay producers. It is believed around 80 percent of all US Chardonnay can trace its origins to Wente.

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