Ridge Stags Leap District Chardonnay, Napa Valley, USA

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Pine Ridge produced two impressive Chardonnays, the 1994 Knollside Cuvee Chardonnay and the 1994 Chardonnay Stag's Leap District. Both wines are elegant, flavorful, pure, and ideal for drinking over the next several years.Although the 1994 Chardonnay Stag's Leap District is tighter and less evolved, it is a stylish wine with citrusy ripe fruit and good structure. It may ultimately turn out to be longer-lived and more complex than the Knollside Cuvee, but at present it is more difficult to assess.Tel. (800) 486-0503

The 1993 Chardonnay Stag's Leap District offers layers of ripe apple/pineapple-like fruit, crisp, underlying acidity, a dash of toasty oak, and a medium to full-bodied, brilliantly focused personality. This elegant, flavorful wine is best consumed over the next 1-2 years. Winemaker/proprietor Gary Andrus is frequently hitting the bull's eye. If readers have not followed Pine Ridge's recent releases, they should give the wines reviewed in this issue a try as just about everything has increased significantly in quality. All of these wines will be bottled without fining or filtration. Tasting 1994 cuvees of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot at Pine Ridge's magnificent underground caves made me think that this will be the vintage that pushes this well-run winery into Napa Valley's top echelon.Tel. (707) 253-7500