Wente Riva Ranch Pinot Noir 2016
-
Tasting
Panel -
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The 2016 Riva Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir is subtle with delicate hints of baked red apple and baking spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.
Professional Ratings
-
Tasting Panel
This single-vineyard Pinot Noir is sourced exclusively from the family’s own property, where a long, cool growing season and gravelly loam soils add character to the variety. Seven different clones are farmed to make up the complexity of the wine’s flavors and texture. Each is fermented separately in stainless steel, with twice-daily pumpovers; each lot is also aged separately for 16 months in French oak and then blended together. On the nose, spiced rhubarb, bramble, and red tea take shape. A nice body weight gives depth to layers of chocolate-cherry, cranberry, cinnamon, and a hint of new leather. White pepper and earthy gravel undertones tie it all together.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Candied red cherry, clove and oak smoke converge for a very accessible and inviting nose on this bottling from the historic family’s estate. Pomegranate flavors meet with oak and vanilla bean on the palate, which is framed by chalky and sticky tannins.
Other Vintages
2021-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling
-
James
Suckling
-
Tasting
Panel
Founded in 1883, Wente Vineyards is the country’s longest continuously family-owned and operated winery. Today, the winery maintains its leadership role in California winegrowing under the ownership and management of the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family. Blending traditional and innovative winemaking practices, the winery draws from its sustainably-farmed vineyards to create an outstanding portfolio of wines. The family owns and operates vineyards in two world-class regions of the Central Coast of California - Livermore Valley and Arroyo Seco, Monterey. Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Vineyards is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, food and wine experiences, and championship golf.
In 1912, 2nd Generation Ernest Wente persuaded his father and founder, C.H. Wente, to import Chardonnay cuttings from a well-known vine nursery, F. Richter Nursery in Montpellier, France, to the Livermore Valley. Ernest hand-picked vines that showed the best health and pronounced flavors, grafted the two together and propagated those characteristics forward. Ultimately creating what is known as the ‘Wente Clone.’ Today, over 75% of all California Chardonnay stems from the Wente Clone and the Wente Family property.