-
Try our Advanced Search for more options
North Coast Claret is a Bordeaux blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Syrah, and 2% Petit Verdot that is sourced from a range of appellations in Sonoma and Napa counties. Released earlier than reserve wines, it provides an introduction to the 2018 vintage, which many saw as a return to normal after a few drought years. Cooler autumn temperatures led to a later start to the harvest and produced excellent fruit. Jeb Dunnuck said the wine was “fresh with aromas of graphitic earth and red plum, and the palate reveals fine tannins and the juicy, youthful appeal of red apple and crushed roses. This is ready and inviting to drink now or over the next 3-6 years.” The affordable price makes trying a bottle easy! This wine will pair well with steak, slow-braised beef or even a chilli con carne.
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 | 2018 |
| Color | Red |
| Varietal(s) | 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Syrah, 2% Petit Verdot |
| 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 | RM18CRT |
| UPC | 185983000046 |
94 points – Wine Advocate; 91 points – Jeb Dunnuck.
Enticing aromas of plum, dark cherries, cedar, and earth lead to a full-bodied palate of blackberry, cassis, and exotic spices. With a 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 18 months in French and American oak (20% new) and was lightly fined with egg whites and bottled without filtration.