-
Try our Advanced Search for more options
If Russian River vineyards were classified like those in Burgundy, the Ritchie Vineyard would be one of the Grand Crus. The plot allocated to Ramey was planted to Wente selection in 1972. The gnarled vines produce but a few bunches of grapes each year, yet the fruit is consistently excellent due to the combination of sandy benchland soil, a cool microclimate and attentive farming. In 2018, excellent weather led to a harvest that started almost two weeks later than years previous. Ramey Cellars could harvest fruit with great to exceptional quality with well-preserved acids. Jeb Dunnuck, called the 2018 Ritchie one of Ramey’s standouts, having “a Grand Cru Burgundy nose of chalky minerality, exotic flowers, brioche, and assorted stone and orchard fruits. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Chardonnay that's concentrated, has a structured mouthfeel, integrated yet bright acidity, and a great finish.” Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay will pair well with fresh crab or chicken with a mushroom sauce.
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) | Russian River Valley (Sonoma) |
| Winery | Ramey |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Color | White |
| Varietal(s) | Chardonnay |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Bottle Size | 8.0 x 30.0 |
| Case Size | 34.5 x 26.0 x 30.5 |
| Alcohol | 14.5% |
| Product Code | RM18RIT |
| UPC | 185983000084 |
| MLF | 100 |
98 points – Wine Enthusiast; 95 points – Jeb Dunnock; 95 points – Wine Spectator; 94 points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Apples and pears, lilacs and white blossoms mingle on the nose with notes of chalk and brioche. The palate offers a complex and harmonious mouthfeel, combining stone and orchard fruits with hints of fresh seaside breeze. The flavors are balanced by bright acidity and a crisp, mineral finish.
The grapes were pressed as whole clusters and transferred to barrels for native primary and malolactic fermentation. 20 months aging in French oak barrels (25% new).