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While Pinot Noir may be the dominant red variety planted in the Sonoma Coast AVA, David Ramey is proving the appellation offers great potential for Syrah, too. The cool climate at Ramey’s two Syrah vineyards, Cole and Rodgers Creek, allows the fruit to develop notes of green olive, smoked meat, white pepper and savory herbs — much like the classic wines of the Northern Rhone. And taking the Rhone model a step further, these vineyards each have a few rows of Viognier, which is co-fermented with the red fruit, adding more complexity and perfume to the wine. The Wine Enthusiast awarded the 2018 Sonoma Coast Syrah 98 points, calling it “sinewy and seductive in black pepper, garrigue and brooding black fruit… sublime in texture and complex in structure.” If you can lay down a few bottles of this delicious wine, it should develop well over the next 8 - 12 years.
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) | Sonoma Coast |
| Winery | Ramey |
| Vintage | 2018 |
| Color | Red |
| Varietal(s) | 92% Syrah, 8% Viognier |
| Closure | Cork |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Bottle Size | 8.3 x 30.0 |
| Case Size | 34.5 x 26.0 x 30.5 |
| Alcohol | 14.5% |
| Product Code | RM18SSH |
| UPC | 185983000169 |
98 points – Wine Enthusiast; 94 points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate; 93 points – Wine Spectator.
Fresh and fragrant, opening with blackberries and currants highlighted with black pepper, bacon fat, and dark chocolate. The medium-bodied palate is polished and precise, offering layers of fruit, spice, floral notes and refined tannins that linger long into the finish.
92% Syrah and 8% Viognier were co-fermented in tank on native yeast with a significant portion of Syrah as whole clusters. The wine aged in 55% new French oak and was bottled without filtration.