Tasting Ramey Wines

Recently I went to a tasting with winemaker David Ramey from Ramey 

Wine Cellars. I had not tasted his wines for a few years, so I was 

interested to see what the new vintages were like. David was very 

informative. He pointed out that the Russian River Valley, Sonoma 

Coast and Carneros appellations are suited for cool-climate varieties 

such as chardonnay.  We tasted 3 Ramey chardonnays from the 

2006 vintage. David said the 2006 vintage started out slow, but a 

heat wave in July helped push the season along. He began harvesting 

the last week of September and rain came in October, so there 

was a rush to finish harvesting.

The chardonnays we tasted were the Sonoma Coast, Hyde Vineyard, 

and the Hudson Vineyard. Each of the wines showed characteristics of the

vineyards. 

2006 Ramey Sonoma Coast: Chalky, mineral nose and taste, light with 

some citrus notes and an acidic finish.  The wines were not over chilled, 

but as the wine warmed up I found it developed a hard finish. 

2006 Hyde Vineyard, Napa Valley-Carneros: Full bodied, smoky oak with

hints of vanilla and pear finishing with zesty acidity. The terroir in the 

Hyde Vineyard was apparent. I could see similarities in this wine to the 

Kistler Hyde Vineyard.

2006 Hudson Vineyard, Napa Valley-Carneros: Golden, straw like color,

medium bodied with lean citrus, honey, hint of wood.