It was back in 2011 that Marla and Geoff Bedrosian made the leap to follow their dreams and purchase a small Pinot Noir vineyard, in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley, named Vineyard eleven. The site is planted to a range of clonal selections including: Red Barn Block – Clones; UV Vosne-Romonée, Pommard and Swan in the Red Barn Block and Swan and Mount Eden in their Heritage Block. Their first harvest was completed in August 2017. They then followed by producing their first Rosé of Pinot Noir in April 2018 and later their first Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in 2019.
This is now the second time that I have tasted these wines, the first being during my 2023 Sonoma Report back in March. I was really impressed with the wines that showed beautiful texture, weight and poise. The new wines I tasted come from the 2020 and 2021 vintages. They did a marvelous job mitigating the 2020 vintage, as I loved the 2020 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Ritchie Vineyard’ Chardonnay (OB, 92) which was rich and viscous, coming off very clean. Even better is the 2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Ritchie Vineyard’ Chardonnay (OB, 93) which is more dense and shows some great aging potential. Learn more about this great boutique winery at https://domaineriviere.com/ and here are my reviews of the fantastic new Domaine de la Riviere wines.
2020 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Ritchie Vineyard’ Chardonnay- Coming from this esteemed site farmed by Kent Richie, this offers butterscotch and stony minerals on the nose with Meyer lemon zest. The palate is soft and refined with a seamless texture and great sense of verve. Full-bodied, and coming off very clean this is absolutely delicious stuff from a tough vintage. Drink 2023-2029- 92
2020 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Flora Marie Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The Flora Marie Vineyard is a site located on a steep Ridgeline overlooking the Russian River. This is soft and approachable on the mouth, with layers of buttercream and poached pear alongside brioche notes. Drink now. Drink 2023-2028- 91
2020 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Next Door Neighbor’ Chardonnay- This Chardonnay comes from the Lone Oak Vineyard which utilizes 35 year old Wente clonal selection vines. Deeply colored, this is equally deeply concentrated, with ripe fig and Japanese pear flavors alongside shades of marzipan and nutty undercurrents. Really good now, enjoy over the next seven years to come. Drink 2023-2030- 92
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Ritchie Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The 2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Ritchie Vineyard’ Chardonnay is a knockout effort that is already beautifully evolved at the near three year mark. It is seamless throughout the drinking experience with layers of banana, toasty oak, vanilla cream and shades of hazelnut on the palate. Medium to full-bodied, enjoy this beautiful wine now and over the next eight years. Drink 2023-2031- 93
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Flora Marie Vineyard’ Chardonnay- This outstanding bottling comes from the Flora Marie Vineyard which is a scenic site neighboring the Russian River. This wine utilizes Montrachet clonal selection Chardonnay, as the wine is soft and refined once on the mid-palate. Layers of buttercream and allspice dusted pie crust combine with banana and suggestions of mango on the palate. The weight of this wine is impressive. Enjoy this beautiful wine now and over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2023-2033- 93
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Next Door Neighbor’ Chardonnay- The 2021 ‘Next Door Neighbor’ Chardonnay is another beautiful 2021 bottling by Domaine de la Riviere. This is beautifully textured stuff as you can sense the battonage. Ripe pear and juicy melon flavors mingle well with the underlying verve and kumquat zest tones. This is concentrated stuff that maintains good balance. It is quite frankly a joy to drink right now. Drink 2023-2033- 93
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Two Forces’ Pinot Noir- The 2021 ‘Two Forces’ Pinot Noir comes from two separate Russian River Valley sites that are blended together. Deeply perfumed on the bouquet, this shows impressive red currant and black tea aromatics alongside loamy soils and suggestions of tart cranberry. The palate is soft and refined with a great sense of texture, and plenty of salty, damp soil character. This medium-bodied and earthy Pinot Noir is drinking marvelously right now. Drink 2023-2033- 92
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Red Bar Block’ Pinot Noir- The 2021 ‘Red Bar Block’ comes from their estate vineyard and is named after the red barn that overlooks this block. Dark in the glass, this offers black cherry and pomegranate seed flavors alongside plenty of wet stone and damp earthy character on the palate. Already nicely evolved, enjoy now and over the next ten years to come. Drink 2023-2033- 92
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Middle Reach Vineyards’ Pinot Noir- The ‘Middle Reach Vineyards’ combines Pinot Noir from the El Diablo and their estate Vineyard eleven. This is wonderfully earthy stuff with cran-pomegranate and black truffle shavings alongside freshly tilled salty soils on the palate. Nicely textured and well-balanced, enjoy now and over the next decade. Drink 2023-2033- 92
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘Heritage Block’ Pinot Noir- This 2021 Pinot Noir comes from a 3 acre parcel in their estate Vineyard eleven. The site is on a rolling hillside that sees a great deal of morning fog. Fresh and viscous, this has really great richness and underlying tension. Loaded with black and red fruit flavors, with salty and Mandarin orange rind accents, this is beautiful, age-worthy Pinot Noir that is also really enjoyable in its youth. Drink 2023-2033- 93
2021 Domaine de la Riviere ‘El Diablo Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The El Diablo Vineyard is located on a high ridge that overlooks the Russian River Valley. This 2021 Pinot Noir opens with a beautiful bouquet of red rose petals alongside Bing cherry, loganberry and stony accents. The palate is plush and soft, with bright, mouth-watering acidity and a core of rich red fruit flavors. Enjoyable now, savor this beautiful Pinot Noir over the next ten plus years. Drink 2023-2033- 93