<< Back to All Reviews

2005 Vintage

90 Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 07
Bright straw. Complex aromas of tangerine, pear, gingerbread and smoked meat display impressive thrust and focus. Fleshy and round, with energetic citrus and citrus zest flavors and a deeper note of poached pear on the finish. Gains more weight with air and takes on an interesting musky quality.

2004 Vintage

91   Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2006
Medium yellow. Lemon, lime, nutmeg and smoke on the nose. Harmonious and sweet in the mouth, with a racy texture and lovely lift and length. This has an exhilarating sugar/acid balance and excellent definition.

2003 Vintage

89  Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2005
Fuller yellow color, with an unfiltered appearance. Exotic aromas of orchard fruits, clove and flowers. Offers a sweeter impression than the RRV bottling, with a softer texture but very good richness. Strong flavor of peach is framed by sound acidity. Best on the classically dry, mounting finish, which boasts very good length.

2002 Vintage

91 (+?)  Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2004
About half of this wine comes from Hyde and Hudson fruit. Deeper yellow color. Rather exotic aromas of pineapple and clove. Then bright and minerally in the mouth; more dominated by its structure and less pliant today than the Russian River Valley bottling. But this boasts excellent flavor intensity and structure. Perhaps the best vintage yet for this wine.

91 (two puffs) Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine October 2004
Slightly hazy in appearance but perfectly in focus in its aromas and flavors, this bottling mixes toasty oak with outgoing notes of ripe apples, sweet lemons and a hint of Anjou pear, and its full yet nicely balanced palate feel allows the wine full play even at its tender age. Long and ever so slightly hot at the finish, this one invites early drinking alongside cream-sauced pastas, smoked salmon or buttered lobster.

Four stars Ronn Wiegand’s Restaurant Wine Vol. 16, No. 6 Sep/Oct 2004
Excellent Chardonnay. The Carneros bottling is fleshy, full bodied, and medium rich Chardonnay, with good balance. It has ripe fruit, toast, lemon peel and roasted nut aromas/flavors. Long finish.

89  Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, 02-28-05, Issue 157
Softer and less interesting, but pleasant in a low-keyed style is the 2002 Chardonnay Carneros. It possesses copious quantities of lush tropical fruits, medium body and an easy-going character.

88 California Grapevine, Volume 30, No. 5, Oct-Nov 2004
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, intense, earthy, distinct Chardonnay fruit aroma; medium-full body; crisp, lemony, green apple flavors with firm acidity; lemony finish; lingering aftertaste. Appearing a bit green at present and needing some bottle aging. Highly recommended.

2001 Vintage

91 (two puffs)  Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine, June 2003, p. 127
In this bottling, winemaker Ramey has found an extra note of complexity in the biscuity, creamy overlay to the wine’s direct, clean fruitiness. Notes of green apples and oak fill the mouth and are presented with the typical polish and precision that mark just about every Ramey Chardonnay of late. Its firm underbelly will hold it in good stead during a few years of aging, but there is a lot to like in this one even now.

91  California Grapevine, Vol. 29, No. 2, April-May 2003, p. 32
Medium-light golden yellow; attractive, intense, well-defined, nutty, spiced apple aroma with notes of vanilla; full body; big, rich, plush, intense, toasty, green apple flavors with firm acidity; well balanced and structured; lingering aftertaste. Shows distinctive varietal character and good aging potential. Very highly recommended.

90  Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Issue 108, May/June 2003
Tighter on the nose than the RRV example. Then spicy, juicy and intensely flavored, with lovely, sweet, mouthcoating fruit. Dense, sappy and spicy. Finishes quite dry, with a lingering pineapple flavor.

Four stars  Ronn Wiegand’s Restaurant Wine, Issue # 95, p. 17
These are fine Chardonnays. The Carneros bottling is finely flavored, full bodied, and very well balanced; a Chardonnay with crisp acidity, pineapple, lemon peel, toast, and new oak aromas/flavors. Great value.

89  Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, 12-23-03, p. 38-39
It is loaded with tropical fruit (particularly pineapple), crisp acidity, medium body, and a greenish hue to the light gold color. Enjoy this tasty, straightforward, hedonistic 2001 over the next 1-2 years.