Ramey (4.75)




Open 10:00am or 2:00pm, Monday-Saturday

Appt required? Yes. Two seatings as noted above

Last barlinwine.com visit: 2010

Directions:

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Tasting:
If you're planning on tasting at Ramey, eat first! Ramey offers a seated tasting of their fine wines twice daily, at 10:00am and 2:00pm. We decided we'd start our day with them at the 10:00am appointment, and were joined at the tasting by 6 other people. Awaiting us at the table were nine glasses of wine -- each -- and a solar system map to help us navigate the next 90 minutes. Ramey does not allow sharing at the tasting, and so this was an aggressive start to our day.

We started with 4 Chardonnays -- 2 appellation (Sonoma Coast and Russian River), and 2 single vineyards (their Hyde Vineyard and Hudson Vineyard). All were very drinkable. While the single vineyards were a bit more earthy and complex, my personal favorite was the Sonoma Coast, a rich, smooth wine which featured low acidity and a nice long finish for a Chardonnay.

We moved from there to the reds. Ramey ultimately focuses on Cabernet, but we started our red journey with a spice box Syrah. Heavy on pepper, this would be a great food wine. We moved on to their Claret, 80% Cab with a blend of the other usual suspects. This was solid and immediately drinkable. We then finished with 3 Cabernets. Our first taste was of their appellation Cabernet from the Alexander Valley. This was a high quality wine, but it was quickly forgotten once we delved into the single vineyards. Ramey makes two distinct single vineyard Cabs: one with grapes from the Larkmead Vineyard, and one from the Annum Vineyard. 2006 will be the final year for Larkmead Vineyard Cab at Ramey. For reasons unclear, the agreement with Larkmead to purchase fruit fell through, but the wine Ramey produces stands up to the wine made from the same grapes at our favorite winery over in Napa. The 2006 Annum was even better, and one of the more appealing wines on our trip. Our hostess for the day had mentioned the excitement around the 2007 vintage, something I am equally giddy about for Cab and Pinot Noir from that excellent year in California. She mentioned that the 2007 Annum had been bottled and that it was just about ready to be released. I asked the question that I had to: did they happen to have any available to try? Her brow furrowed and she left to check on that.

To my enjoyment (and everyone else's there), she returned with a bottle which she split in its entirety among the 5 of us interested in trying it. And boy was it good, even more deep and rich than the 2006. It maintained the complexity of the 2006 but drank even better. A wise investment, Ramey Winery: one bottle split among tasters turned into a sale of multiple bottles to me!

The Ramey experience was wholly enjoyable. While I wish it was free (the $25 tasting fee is charged in advance), I also felt like I more than got my money's worth of wine. I'd recommend any of their wines, but the single vineyard Cabs stand up to some of the finest out there, and I think that the price point on all wines we tried was accurate and fair. This was a solid and recommended tasting experience.

Recommended wine: Good whites, but the reds really stole the show, especially the single vineyard Cabernets. The 2007 Annum is going to be a great wine (94+).


Ratings (out of 5):


WINE
4.75
TASTING ROOM
4.75

ATMOSPHERE
4.75
VALUE
4.75

OVERALL
4.75

1 comment:

  1. We had a good tasting at Ramey, but I have to disagree with your high rating of the tasting room and atmosphere. The room could hardly be considered scenic and the atmosphere was -- well, stuffy. I would have put the tasting at the middle of the pack at best.

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