Ritual Casablanca Valley Chardonnay 2018
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Suckling
James -
Parker
Robert
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
An elegant wine with a greenish-yellow color, with expressive aromas of quince, apple and hazelnut notes intermingled with subtle hints of oak and vanilla. Smooth, elegant and creamy texture with a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This has bright aromas of fresh lemon pastry. Peaches and freshly baked pastry flavors on the palate. Vivid, fresh finish. Good concentration here.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There is a savory overall sensation in the 2018 Ritual Chardonnay that I like very much. Like most of the wines, it feels more a wine from a place than a variety; it is serious, balanced and fresh, with the salinity of the granite soils of Casablanca Valley. It has contained ripeness and very integrated, almost imperceptible oak.
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One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A region that has become synonymous with some of the best whites of Chile, the Casablanca Valley is full of dozens of bodegas who either grow fruit here or come from outside to source from local growers for their own white wine programs. The valley runs from east to west, which means that its westernmost vineyards receive the most cooling influence from the reliable afternoon sea breezes. The soils also tend to be heavier in clay in the west, whereas the eastern end of the valley is warmer and its soils are predominantly granitic. Sauvignon blanc thrives here, Chardonnay does well and Pinot noir is not uncommon.