Review: River Road, Russian River Valley Reserve Chardonnay
I’m always interested in learning the stories behind the wines I try, whether that’s the story of the winemaker, the vineyard, the region or something else. The first thing that caught my attention when looking into this wine is that River Road winery is owned by Ron Rubin, who also owns The Republic of Tea — a brand I was much more aware of than River Road.
While Rubin grew up in the wine industry, his role was on the distribution side of things rather than production, starting his journey helping at his father’s wholesale wine and liquor company in Illinois. He went on to broader beverage distribution and purchased The Republic of Tea in the early 1990’s. He didn’t purchase River Road winery until 2011, so he’s still relatively new to wine production.
Another thing I found interesting about the story behind this wine is that the River Road brand produces over 100,000 cases of wine per year but the permit at the winery only allows them to produce 12,000 cases. Therefore, they need to buy fruit from other growers and contract with custom crush facilities in order to produce the volume they want.
While they could produce smaller volumes and charge much higher prices for those wines, as many producers do, Rubin believes good wine should be accessible and designed his go-to-market strategy around reasonably-priced wines. This philosophy is always music to my ears.
I would describe the River Road, Russian River Valley Reserve Chardonnay as one done in a classic California Chardonnay style. As noted in the name, this wine comes from the Russian River Valley in California, a region known for exceptional Chardonnay.
This wine may have the most floral nose I’ve ever found on a Chardonnay. It abounds with honeysuckle, vanilla, pear and flinty mineral aromatics. The palate brings pear and apple flavors drenched in butter, with a touch of minerality. The mouthfeel is nice. The acidity is sufficient. It finishes relatively long with butter and stone fruit flavors.
If you’re a fan of California Chardonnay, I think you’ll like this one.
Wine: River Road, Russian River Valley Reserve Chardonnay
Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Vintage: 2018
Alcohol: 13.7%
Rating: 86
Average price: $17.99
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.
