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2005 Vintage

95    Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, December 2007, Issue 174
The 2005 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard shows crushed rock, white currant, citrus oil, pineapple, peach, and apricot characteristics. Long, rich, and deep with strong acidity, it should be consumed over the next 4-5 years.

92    California Grapevine, Vol. 32, No. 6, Dec 2006-Jan 2007, p. 110
Medium-light yellow color; attractive, intense, complex, toasty, spiced apple aroma with notes of lemon zest and butterscotch; full body; tight, citrussy, nutty, green apple flavors with good depth and well integrated oak; well balanced and structured; lingering aftertaste. Very appealing to taste now though it should continue to develop and improve with several more years of bottle aging. Very highly recommended.

2004 Vintage

93    Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate 12-22-06
The 2004 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard exhibits wonderfully sweet brioche, bee’s wax, honeyed pineapple, and some hazelnut notes. It has crisp acidity, a rich, long, full-bodied finish, and a style that seems to beautifully transpose a European allegiance to elegance with a California predilection for ripeness. That is what is so admirable about not only the Chardonnays from Ramey but the red wines as well.

89 (one puff)     Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine, February 2007
We can see some of the same firmness and tight linearity of the Hudson Vineyard bottling here, but whereas that wine is a bit sparing in fruit, this one comes with an amplified sense of fresh apples and pears, and it keeps oak to a quiet, complementary role. Solid, alive and entirely capable of aging well, this vigorous youngster can safely be set aside for another two or three years of positive development.

91 Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 07
Light gold. Fat and ripe, with full-blown melon, poached pear and peach aromas. Forward, ripe tropical and orchard fruit flavors are gently lifted by soft acidity and a touch of minerals. Gains weight on the finish, which features expansive orange and nectarine flavors and excellent length. This is the most fruit-driven of Ramey's vineyard-designated chardonnays.

91    California Grapevine, Vol. 32, No. 6, Dec 2006-Jan 2007, p. 111
Medium-light yellow; attractive, forward, intense, toasty, buttery, ripe tropical fruit aroma with notes of citrus, toasted hazelnut, and butterscotch; full body; rich, textured, toasty, ripe Chardonnay fruit flavors; well balanced and structured for bottle aging; lingering aftertaste. This is the third vineyard-designated Chardonnay released by Ramey this fall. Very highly recommended.

2003 Vintage

95    Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate 12-26-05, Issue 162
The 2003 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard, from a vineyard planted in 1972 with the Old Wente clone on Goldridge soils, shows opulent levels of tropical fruit intermixed with beeswax and orange skin/nectarine notes. It is full-bodied, with a superb purity, terrific acidity, and a long, heady finish.

93   Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2006
Full bright yellow. Fresh apricot, lemon, toast, crushed stone, iodine and smoke on the highly nuanced nose. Velvety and saline on the palate, but with its complexity somewhat muted today by a whiff of reduction. But this chewy wine possesses superb concentration and length. Harmonious acids frame and extend the wine's sweet fruit.

91    California Grapevine, Vol. 32, No. 2, April-May 2006, p. 33
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, spicy, ripe melon and green apple aroma that developed depth and intensity with airing in the glass; full body; forward, plush, intense, slightly viscous, baked apple flavors with overtones of creamy oak; firmly structured; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.

2002 Vintage

94   Wine & Spirits, April 2005, pg. 107
The Year's Best Chardonnays: The Ritchie Vineyard was planted 30 years ago, just outside Forestville on Gold Ridge soils. It's the old Wente selection of chardonnay, producing a wine with complexity of fruit flavor, its alcohol completely integrated so it tastes substantial rather than weighty or warm. Spices hover at the edges, melding into the fresh lime flavor. It grows more crystal clear with air, the clean lines of the wine well suited for age. Or drink it now with Friulian-style braised polpo.

94   Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2005
Palish yellow. Captivating aromas of orange blossom, lemon, flowers, mint and baking spices. Thick and sappy in the mouth, with terrific verve and lightness of touch. Dry, classic and gripping wine with superb persistence. Ramey's portion of this outstanding vineyard features a Wente clone planted in 1972 on Goldridge loam.

93    Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate 02-28-05, Issue 157
Ramey ratchets up the levels of quality, complexity, and depth with the single vineyard whites. Even better, the deep, full-throttle 2002 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard exhibits aromas of buttery popcorn, tropical fruits, citrus blossoms, lemon oil, and well-integrated oak. Full and rich with superb focus, it should drink well for 4-5 years.

92    California Grapevine, Vol. 30, No. 6, Dec 2004-Jan 2005, p. 114
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, forward, toasty, spicy, nutty, ripe pear and green apple aroma; full body; forward, plush, toasty ripe pear and green apple flavors with a full, rounded mouth feel and a note of butterscotch; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.

91 (two puffs)   Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine, March 2005
This rich and energetic Chardonnay is very much cast in the Ramey model and presents a lovely, neatly proportioned, quite complex combination of deep fruit, minerals and sweet oak spice. It is full-bodied and impeccably balanced with a fleshy mouth feel, a lengthy finish and plenty of intensity. Like its siblings, it is thoroughly satisfying at present but displays lots of room for certain improvement if set aside for a further few years of cellaring.