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2023 Ridge Vineyards "Estate" Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay

2023 Ridge Vineyards "Estate" Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay

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100

Jeb Dunnuck

Review Date: 04/2025

The 2023 Chardonnay Estate is a unicorn wine, with the acids naturally occurring with ease in this cool, long, extended growing season that the wine world is rightfully excited about, producing wines of tremendous elegance and balance, sourced entirely from Monte Bello Estate. The minerality is off the charts, exuberantly defining the wine after a barrel fermentation of nine months on the lees in 85% American and 15% French oak, 15% of it new. Gorgeously lengthy and bright, winemaker John Olney recommends that for primary fruit, it's best to drink through the first 7-8 years; for fans of later-aging wines, wait 20 years. I adore this wine.

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Price: $79.95

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Professional Reviews

95

Owen Bargreen

The 2023 ‘Estate’ Chardonnay is entirely sourced from the famed Monte Bello Vineyard. Coming from this cooler vintage, the wine was stored in a combination of American oak, French oak and Amphorae before bottling. Challah bread and vanilla creme brûlée all mark the nose alongside banana and hints of ripe mango. The palate is plush, ripe and laden with minerality. Very seamless throughout the drinking experience, with a light dusting of salinity and fat mouthfeel, this combination of richness and freshness really makes it sing. Glorious now, enjoy over the next eight to ten years. Drink: 2025-2033.

95

Vinous

Review Date: 09/2025
The 2023 Chardonnay Estate is bright, fresh and precisely articulated. Sourced entirely from the Monte Bello estate vineyard, the 2023 is a rounded, intensely concentrated wine that remains completely energized and lively from the vibrant first sip to the creamy finish. Shades of caramelized pear, white flowers and marzipan blossom in the glass. The Chardonnay was aged in a combination of 85% American and 15% French oak, 20% new. It's a fabulous edition of this bottling. (BN)

94

Decanter

Review Date: 04/2025
Ridge has made this Chardonnay from the Montebello estate since 1962, but it's less than 5% of the planted acres. This comes from the lower slopes of the original Klein Ranch. A long, cool growing season pushed this Chardonnay back a month in 2023, in terms of harvest dates. An extended hang time gives the wine a nice balance. While it's opulent and ripe, with vanilla bean and poached pear from 80% American oak, its whole cluster is pressed and spends 6-8 months sur lie with a weekly battonage. The palate is lushly fruited with creamy notes of lemon curd, baked apple and a bright, nearly savoury finish. Delicious. (CP)
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Product Details

Origin: Santa Cruz Mountains, California, United States

Type/Varietal: Chardonnay

Alcohol Content: 14.1%

SKU: #1860176