Rivers-Marie, Joy Road Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Rivers-Marie · California › Sonoma Coast › United States of America

White · Chardonnay

Critics

91 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

91.3

Avg Score

Highest

Drinking well. Smooth and buttery without dominating oak.

2015 vintage

In a great spot now - drink up. Good length on the finish. Easy drinking.

2015 vintage

Pop and pour with dinner. No visible signs of age. Tropical notes of pineapple, lemon and lime with a bit of minerality. Still drinking well.

2015 vintage

PnP, consumed over 3 hours. Appearance: Clear, medium lemon - no indications of age. Nose: Clean, medium+ intensity with developing aromas of Fuji apple, pear, pineapple, mango, flint, bread, and light licorice notes. Palate: Dry, medium acid, medium+ intensity, medium+ body, 14.1 abv with flavors of apple, pear, and pineapple with saline notes and a medium+ finish. Balance: Excellent Length: Excellent Intensity: Excellent Complexity: Excellent An excellent 8+ year old Chardonnay still a couple years from peak. Can drink now, …

2015 vintage

Pleasant, quite full bodied, lemony. No decline though bottle was open for 3 or 4 days, suggesting well stored bottles should age slowly in the cellar for several more years.

2015 vintage

Coravin pour. So well balanced, with excellent viscosity. Tropical lemon, touch of butter. This went down fast.

2015 vintage

Just clean, lovely, and beautifully elegant. Showing notes of honeysuckle, melon, and just a touch of mineralogy making this privy to go to sample of why we need to age our whites just a little bit longer! I wish I had more.

2015 vintage

Beautiful lemony Chablis-like nose. Very light yellow color. I’m not getting the butterscotch a few notes have mentioned. Taste and full shape similar to a warmish year in Chablis, with pear, lemon, and some lemon spice on the tart finish. Better with food at this point than a wine to sip by itself. I have one more bottle, which I’ll try to hold for a couple years.

2015 vintage

Lovely with lemon curd, butterscotch and great balance and depth

2015 vintage

Lemon kissed butterscotch. Rich butterscotch on the round palette. A drinker’s cali chard.

2015 vintage

Smooth as silk... wish I had more.

2015 vintage

White flowers, orchard fruits, pear. Beautiful nose. Med to med-low acidity. My one complaint is that the oak was a bit too much. Still, a good CA chard, even if not a style I gravitate towards.

2015 vintage

Nose of white flowers, along with tropical and stone fruits. Palette is soft and round, low acid and low mineral profile. The oak treatment came on strong for me, with butterscotch and even a slight woody taste. Perhaps not integrated yet. This is a nice drinking chard. I’d caution food pairing.

2015 vintage

I have the bad habit of drinking whites too cold. Especially true with this bottle. Right out of the frig this is nothing special but my last glass had warmed almost to room temperature (got engrossed in a book) and what a change. Turned into a rich and nutty chard with some pear notes and light spices. My new plan is to drink inexpensive whites cold and more expensive ones warmer.

2015 vintage

Bright and crisp. PnP. Lemon, pear, a lot of minerals and a touch of oak on the nose. Similar flavors. Beautifully balanced with great acidity. Long finish with some nuttiness showing up with the cedar and spice. In a really good place now. Unfortunately, my last bottle, but may improve over another year or 2.

2015 vintage

Crisp with nice balance, acidity and lots of lemon and pear notes. Excellent with Mahi

2015 vintage

Nice but a little richer and fuller than I remember. Would like a bit more acid to give it a backbone. ymmv

2015 vintage