Arista, Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma County, Russian

This is one of the best Chardonnays I have tasted all year, and thoroughly recommend you get hold of some. There's not a trace of fat, and yet it's rich and full of flavour, with zinging citrus peel offset by mouthwatering salinity on the finish. The whole thing just holds on and on - it's brilliantly structured and is sure to develop more complexity in bottle. The vines are heading up to 50 years of age. The wine is barrel fermented with native yeasts in 35% new oak, with a primary ferment that lasts nine months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.