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“Claret” is how the British wine trade would refer to the red wines of Bordeaux. As with a Bordeaux wine of the left bank, Ramey blends Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Merlot (20%), Malbec (14%) and Petit Verdot (12%). While throwing 8% Syrah into the blend may seem like a Californian touch, the winery claims it was an old Bordeaux practice - a not uncommon method of beefing up what were lighter wines back in the day. Though marketed as an early peek at the vintage, Ramey’s 2017 Claret is intense and well-balanced, a fine wine that delivers the goods now but should mature well over the next 10 years. In 2017, close to 50% was sourced from the Napa Valley with the rest coming from the High Valley in Lake County (31%), Alexander Valley (12%), Russian River (7%) and Sonoma County (3%). The Wine Enthusiast called this wine, “an outstanding value and a food-friendly table wine that is seamless and Old World in style, with ample elements of structure, black fruit, tobacco, tomato leaf and toasted oak.”
If there has been a movement in California away from buttery, tropical-sweet Chardonnay and over-ripe, high-octane Cabernet, surely one of the leaders is David Ramey. Located in picturesque Healdsburg, Ramey Cellars is a craft-winery that produces startlingly fresh and balanced Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in Sonoma County and Napa Valley. Many of Ramey’s wines express the terroir of single vineyards while others are specific to such appellations as the Sonoma Coast or Russian River Valley. With his master’s degree in enology from UC Davis, one might have expected Ramey’s wines to be faultless and squeeky-clean; however, an early internship at Chateau Petrus imbued him with the belief that wines should be restrained, balanced and crafted to accompany food. This combination of the empirical and the romantic (along with almost 20 years of experience at such wineries as Simi, Matanzas Creek and Dominus) has led him to experiment with indigenous yeasts and malolactic and barrel fermentation in search of a new California style. This style seeks to tame the naturally luscious and vivacious fruit of California with the traditional techniques of the Old World. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, novelist (and wine geek) Jay McInerny has described “his Chardonnays just a little more voluptuous than the average Puligny-Montrachet, his cabs less tannic than the typical Médoc.”
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Appellation(s) | North Coast |
| Winery | Ramey |
| Vintage | 2017 |
| Color | Red |
| Varietal(s) | 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 14% Malbec, 12% Petit Verdot, 8% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Franc |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Bottle Size | 7.5 x 30.0 |
| Case Size | 32.0 x 24.0 x 31.0 |
| Alcohol | 14.5% |
| Product Code | RM17CRT |
| UPC | 185983000046 |
92 points – Wine Advocat; 90 points (Editor’s Choice) – Wine Enthusiast.
Enticing aromas of plum and dark cherries with notes of cedar and bay leaf lead to a full-bodied palate of blackberry, cassis and exotic spices. With texture that’s soft and round, it’s pleasant throughout.
Fermented on native yeasts, the wine underwent malolactic in barrel. After blending, the finished wine aged 12 months in French and American oak (24% new) and was lightly fined with egg whites and bottled without filtration.