2020 Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard

This is solid set of 2020s from Rivers-Marie, within the context of what was possible in this very challenging vintage. Fires wiped out the Sonoma Pinot Noirs, so the range is quite a bit smaller this year. All of the wines are very good, but the intensity is naturally dialed down. I would prefer to drink the 2020s sooner rather than later, mostly because of the uncertainty of the vintage. That said, I left these bottles open, uncorked, for several days and saw no deterioration in the wines at all, so I imagine the 2020s offer at least good medium-term potential, barring any smoke issues that could emerge later on. Over that time, the Bearwallow Pinot gained in volume and fruit intensity, while the Chardonnays remained vibrant. All of the 2020s have an underpinning of nervy tension that is likely the result of less than ideal ripening. That signature remained in the wines over time, but did not become more prominent. The only wine among the current releases I did not taste is the Sonoma Coast Chardonnay.