2008 Chardonnay Ritche

Mark Aubert has introduced his first new wine in six years, a 2008 chardonnay reportedly from a Corton-Charlemagne clone planted in the new Larry Hyde & Sons vineyard in 2004. He declassified half of this fruit, and the low-pH wine he produced should last a long time. Aubert described 2008 as a "fire and ice vintage," although he noted that the nights were not too hot for the grapes to retain good natural acidity. Crop levels were down considerably, especially in the Lauren wine, due to frost damage in April. And of course the key to the uncanny richness of Aubert's chardonnays has always been low yields: he told me he generally produces the equivalent of 35 hectoliters per hectare of chardonnay, but that in 2008 it was more like 20-and even lower for pinot noir. The 2008 season was tricky for pinot due to the heat spike at the end of August, and Aubert ultimately declassified 40% of his Rueling Vineyard fruit and 60% of UV.