POPLAR/RITCHIE

I met Kent Ritchie in 1982 after he and a mutual friend had finished playing old man’s hockey (they were in the senior league and in fact at the time were pretty darn young!). They owned a vineyard in the Russian River Valley (not yet named as such) and had other serious day jobs. Kent sold Sauvignon Blanc fruit to a winery where I worked in my early career and when I started KEEGAN CELLARS I called Kent about the potential purchase of a couple of tons of fruit. Friendship prevailed, and I trucked 2 tons, 4 bins of fruit from the gentle hillside at the heart of what was by then the AVA known as the Russian River Valley.

Poplar/Ritchie is located at the confluence of the Laguna Bench and the Middle Reach of the RRV appellation. Just northwest of this ranch the Russian River takes a sharp turn from its almost north-south direction to an east-west direction. The morning fog rolls along the river and sweeps gently up the slope at Poplar/Ritchie Ranch. Fogs retreat by about 10-10:30AM and return hours after sunset. The result is a vineyard with both abundant and intense sunlight hours.

Kent Ritchie, owner Poplar/Ritchie Vineyard.

This vineyard was planted from 1971-1974 and shows its age. My nine rows of pinot noir were planted in 1973 on 8 X 12 spacing yielding just 454 vines to the acre (my 9 rows are almost exactly an acre). Clonal material is unknown but those of us who purchase this fruit believe it to be either Wente or Pommard. The old vines naturally crop themselves low at around 4 tons to the acre. With some gentle adjustments to the vine including the occasional short shoot that needs removing, cutting a cluster that is inappropriately positioned and a small green harvest, we bring this crop down to 3.2-3.4 tons to the acre. Trellising is the old single wire with some current modifications to a Vertical Shoot Position Trellis.

The pinot noir wines from this vineyard are the source of the ‘spice rack’. Tasters’ remarks include such descriptors as cinnamon, cardamom, clove, peppermint, and allspice.

Poplar/Ritchie Chardonnay.

Chardonnay is similar to the pinot noir, also planted in 1973. The vineyard is planted on AXR-1 rootstock but thus far the sandy soils have kept phylloxera damage to a minimum. Clonal material is still in question but presumed to be UCD 4, an early workhorse clone planted in many vineyards during the 70’s. This clone provided for reasonably large clusters and high yields. It was a ‘growers’ clone. Today it is out of fashion as it is hard to keep under control with respect to yields. However, in older vineyards, that due to their age crop themselves down, it has some excellent results. Vines naturally set at 4-5 tons per acre. We work aggressively through this vineyard with short shoot thinning, cluster thinning and then a green harvest. Final yields are 3.4-4.0 tons per acre. This clone has always performed well with respect to structure with harmonious acid/pH balance and natural acids a plus. With diligent thinning yields on older vines can be kept under control.

Chardonnay made from this site is very rich with lemon curd, meringue, and honey tones. Razor sharp acid gives the wines from this vineyard plenty of zip and backbone.

Soils for both the pinot noir and the chardonnay are in the Goldridge series. The soil association is on marine/coastal terraces and uplands. Slopes range from 2 to 40 percent. The soils of this association are derived from weathered soft sandstone, siltstone, and shale. The vegetation is Douglas-fir, oaks, and grass. Elevations range from 100 to 500 feet and annual precipitation from 25-40 inches. Soils are moderately well drained. They have a surface layer of light brownish-yellow, a subsoil of light-brown, pale-yellow with fine sandy loam and clay loam. The substratum is very pale-brown and pale-yellow sandy clay loam and fine sandy loam. Erosion can be an issue.

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