2014 Red Car Wine Company Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Sonoma Coast 750 ml

Over two decades, Red Car has gained a sterling reputation (not to mention a bit of a cult following) for delivering on the priceless terroir in their Sonoma County backyard. They’ve won fans nationwide—and been named a Wine & Spirits Top 100 winery—by crafting first-class gems from the most revered vineyards on the “True Sonoma Coast.” 

Red Car’s exquisite 2014 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard comes from a site with few equals: a sea-level parcel whose fruit has been parlayed into supreme Chardonnay by titans like Aubert, Ramey, Chateau Boswell, and Paul Hobbs. But although Red Car might rub shoulders in the Ritchie rows with those guys at harvest time, their wines are miles apart on price. The aforementioned Chardonnays will cost you up to and over $100. Today’s Red Car offering is just $40.

The price is modest. The praise isn’t. Vinous gave Red Car’s 2014 Ritchie Chardonnay 94 points—topping even Hyde Vineyard Chards from DuMol, Kistler, and Ramey—and called it “a wine of striking texture and nuance” that “hits all the right notes.”  Showing a bevy of citrus aromas and a palate of fresh tangerine zest to preserved lemon, this Chardonnay has a beautiful chalk and mineral texture cuts through to a creamy almond-scented finish.

When the famed acting teacher Stella Adler famously said “In your choices lies your talent,” she wasn’t talking about wine, but her words apply to Red Car. The winery was founded upon finding the most expressive vineyards on the True Sonoma Coast. Some of these sites they purchased for themselves. As for the others, they moved heaven and earth to secure fruit that the Sonoma County legends had pretty much elevated as must-have. 

Ritchie was one of those make-or-break sites. It sits on Sonoma’s famous Sandy Goldridge Loam soils and literally eyes Kistler’s iconic Block 7 site directly across Trenton-Healdsburg Road. The site falls smack in the center of the Russian River appellation, and features Old Wente Clones boasting 40 years of age, which eke out thick-skinned, small berries that possess fabulous concentration and phenolic complexity. In short, this is ground zero for California’s best Chardonnay vineyards. 

That’s why it’s so competitive to get Ritchie fruit, and why we’re thrilled to bring this Sonoma Coast gem from one of our favorite producers to you.