2023 Cruse Wine Co. Rorick Vineyard Chardonnay

Product Description

A small winery in Petaluma dedicated to making uniquely Californian wine for your table.

Located at high altitude near the village of Murphys in the Sierra Foothills AVA, this vineyard is planted with own-rooted vines planted in the late 1960s. The soil is schist topsoil and limestone subsoil. The vineyard is owned by Matthew Rorick, owner and winemaker of Forlorn Hope, and his family. The age of the vines, altitude, and incredibly rocky terroir naturally control yields, resulting in small, ripe grapes. “Cruse Wine Co.” and “Ultramarine” are two of the most talked-about California brands in the world today. Michael Cruse, owner and winemaker of these two brands, majored in biochemistry at UC Berkley. After graduating, he studied winemaking from a scientific perspective at SutterHome and Starmont. Without any formal winemaking training, he self-taught himself about wine science through trial and error and hands-on experience, eventually founding Cruse Wine Co. and Ultramarine in 2013.

Just three years later, he was named Winemaker of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, catapulting him into the spotlight as a maverick in the California wine industry. His Cruse Wine Co. brand produces sensitive wines with the pure fruitiness, clarity, and structure characteristic of California, while his Ultramarine brand produces fragrant, handcrafted sparkling wines from single vineyards and single vintages, inspired by Champagne récoltant-manipulants. Even star-rated restaurants in the US only allocate a few bottles per year, making these wines highly sought after by countless sommeliers and wine buyers. Emblematic of California wine’s diversifying era, he creates complex, distinctive, and fresh wines that transcend traditional styles and grape varieties. He actively utilizes word-of-mouth and social media as marketing tools, making him a truly up-and-coming winemaker, leaping into the global marketplace as a truly next-generation leader.

The nose is wet stone, tangerine, and pine needles. There is a floral component of honeysuckle that lingers. The wine has a weighty, viscous, nearly oily mouthfeel while still being light on its feet. The finish is clean wet stone and earth. A wine that speaks strongly of the site it comes from rocky and wild.