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March 2011
90 (one puff) Ramey Wine Cellars Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard 2007 Sonoma Coast
This bold, big-bodied wine does an especially fine job at keeping its sights fixed on deep, well-defined Syrah fruit in spite of its ample ripeness, and its insistent mix of sweet berries is liberally seasoned with elements of peppery spice and slightly gamy, roasted meat notes. It is sturdy and structured, and it finishes with plenty of acid-pushed tannin that will need at least a half-dozen years to soften.
89 (one puff) Ramey Wine Cellars Syrah Sonoma Coast 2007
It may not quite measure up to its pricier sibling from the Rodgers Creek Vineyard, but Ramey's appellation Syrah is still a solid, well-extracted effort that offers up a fair measure of very ripe, peppery fruit with a nice dollop of sweet oak off to the side. It may run afoul of some finishing toughness and heat, but a few years of age and service with appropriately big-flavored foods will see it through to its best.
October 2010
91 (two puffs) Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2008
Fresh and somewhat pulpy fruit scents favoring ripe apples and glimpses of Meyer lemons are filled out by creamy oak spice. Not at all heavy despite its full-bodied entry weight, this bright, lively energetic wine reiterates the balanced mix of richness and fruit in flavors that are long on the palate and a bit on the tight side for the moment. Set it alongside grilled salmon or chicken breasts with a lemon and capers dressing for a real treat. And put some aside for a few years.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay Carneros 2008
More open in aroma than on the palate, this wine shares familial traits in its firm and slightly citrusy flavors. Its has good depth to match up with its still nascent fruit, and if more generous than its mate below, it comes with much of its texture. Both in nose and structure, it suggests a lot more to be found with a few years of quiet time in the cellar.
88 (one puff) Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2008
The most severe of the Ramey offerings in this issue, the Sonoma Coast bottling smells of limes and minerals with Gala apples and Meyer lemon sweet citrus held in the background. Expectedly firm and somewhat "straight-sided" in the mouth with lemony fruit stepping out in front of the appley and oaky notes, the wine is chalky in texture and brisk in aftertaste. It suggests a touch of a Chablisienne character in its mouthfeel but still carries California in its rock candy fruit.
May 2010
94 (two puffs) Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay Ritchie Vieyard Russian River Valley 2007
In 2007, this stunning Chardonnay is our pick of the very good bunch from Ramey. It reflects much the same winemaking hand insofar as it is firm, compact and solidly-structured with nary a suggestion of fat, but it moves to the head of the clan by virtue of its extra richness and depth. While it presently hints at stony complexity and teams generous, wonderfully continuous, young fruit with very deftly fit oak, it has a good distance to go before it fully unwinds, and to drink it before it has had the chance to age for two or three years will be to miss what is sure to be a very grand wine.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Carneros 2007
First let us say that this is still a young wine and shows a certain structural tightness that makes it less than wildly outgoing, and it is not as immediately involving as its competitors that flaunt in-your-face ripeness and oak. But behind its restraint it shows a keen sense of layering with nuances of stones and careful oak spice in league with its very precise fruit. Yes, it is firm, but it is vital and always well-filled, and its combination of fruity depth and impeccable balance guarantees years of improvement. Enjoy it now or later on.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard Carneros District 2007
Showing strong kinship with its partner from the Hyde Vineyard, Ramey's working of Hudson fruit is, if anything, a touch tighter and firmer yet. Its leaner stance nonetheless in no way precludes it from being wonderfully fruity, and its brisk mix of lemons, green apples and wet stones makes for a most compelling wine all the same. It too is one for setting aside as it will surely unfold over time, but, if it wants age before showing its best, it is still easy to like now especially when lightly sauced shellfish is on the menu.
January 2010
91 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2007
The cool climes of Russian River are reflected in the leaner and slightly angular aspects of this nervy young Chardonnay, but for all of its briskness, the wine musters a fair showing of relatively deep fruit, and, in the end, its sins seem no more than those of extreme youth. Its flashes of sweet apples and oak are under-scored by a long line of firm acid, yet its course is set first and foremost by persistent fruit, and it is all but guaranteed to gain further beauty with age.
89 (one puff) Ramey Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2007
Sporting somewhat more weight, a slightly fleshier feel and more overt richness than its zestier mate from Russian River, Ramey's Sonoma Coast bottling combines elements of ripe apples with a touch of lemons and limes and is a slight touch more obvious in its oak. If not quite as crisp as its siblings, it wants not for acid, and its very firm, very long finish is a harbinger of better things to come down the line.
87 (one puff) Ramey Chardonnay Carneros District 2007
On the one hand rich in very sweet oak and leading with strong impressions of ripeness, but, on the other, a wine increasingly narrowed by hard-to-ignore acids, this bottling is a bit at odds with itself at the moment and even more than its mates seems in need of time. So tight and tangy that it needs drinking with shellfish if consumed anytime soon, it will likely remain on the spry side regardless of age.
December 2009
88 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006
Ripe and wide open with no pretense to politeness, this potent young Cabernet delivers lots of extracted, chocolate-tinged fruit framed by sweet smoke and spice. It is full and fleshy in feel, yet its steady progression to puckery toughness tags it as a wine to forget for five or more years.
87 (one puff) Ramey Claret Napa Valley 2006
Ripeness and blatant oak are the two legs upon which this obvious and outgoing wine is balanced, and there is little in the way of refinement or polish to be found. That said, it makes up in richness for what it may lack in finesse, and it will drink nicely with rustic meat dishes after a few years of rest.
August 2009
90 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Annum Napa Valley 2006
High ripeness is met by serious intent in this wonderfully rich, maximally extracted Cabernet, and, if somewhat sprawling and fairly crude in its youth, the wine wants for nothing in the way of fruity depth and sheer power. It runs afoul of grippy finishing tannins and flaring heat and therein finds its limits, but, at the end, its gifts of rich oak and lavish fruit persist and make its sins easy enough to forgive.
89 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard Oakville Napa Valley 2006
The biggest and most outgoing wine of the three very ripe Ramey Cabernets, this dense, exceptionally full-bodied effort is awash in dark berries, milk chocolate and sweet and slightly toasty oak spice. Like each of its mates, it is a wine utterly unconcerned with finesse, and, while it can be criticized as being hotter than needs be at the finish, it more than makes up in richness and substance and sheer fruity stuffing for what it may lack in manners.
88 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Larkmead Vineyard Napa Valley 2006
If perhaps not as big as its two siblings, Ramey's Larkmead Cabernet never wants for substance or size. It marries dark fruit and chocolate and a touch of dried herbs in the nose, and it follows with very ripe flavors whose extract and density come at the cost of fairly gruff tannins. It is unlikely be a wine of refinement regardless of age, but it very much needs to be left undisturbed for at least a half-dozen years.
March 2009
92 (two puffs) Ramey Syrah Shanel Vineyard Sonoma Coast 2006
Ripeness and sweet oak are in abundance here, yet whereas too many like-minded wines can claim the same gifts, Ramey's first-rate effort goes a bit further. It is solidly grounded in spicy Syrah fruit and is uncommonly complex with multi-layered flavors of berries, milk chocolate and black pepper. Not surprisingly, it is too tannic for drinking in the near term, but it has all the right stuff in all the right places to guarantee five to ten years of real expansion and growth.
February 2009
96 (three puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard Carneros 2006
Clean, bright, layered and well-defined apple, sweet citrus and creme brulee scents introduce this impressive Chardonnay, yet for all of their immediacy, the aromas also still on the youthfully tight side. The wine reiterates is twin themes of still nascent fruit and deep, promising character in its flavors that are both compelling in the near term yet capable of further knitting together to deliver all of their impressive potential. A year in bottle would be useful, but three years would be even better and are certain to be rewarding.
94 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard Russian River Valley 2006
Seemingly the deepest and most energetically balanced of the exceptional Ramey trio, this wine is a touch simpler in its central character and a bit sweeter in its fruit. It is going to have great appeal for uses with the less briny, small oysters and with fish like Dover sole than it will with more savory foods, but it is also likely to find greater range over time, and may turn out to be the longest lived of the Ramey trio.
92 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Carneros 2006
Something of a cross between the other offerings from Ramey, this well-fruited, fairly juicy effort is a bit more measured than the Ritchie while having a fair bit of the layering of the Hudson. If it falls back at all, it is due to the less forceful nature of its personality, yet to call it anything but deep and brilliantly executed is to take too much away from it. It earns both its own round of applause and place in the cellar.
October 2008
91 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2006
The leader of the Ramey bunch in this Issue features the deep, outgoing, pulpy yet still developing fruit that is so typical of the best from the winery. Clearly focused on Pippin apple's tart and juicy characteristics and enriched by hints of toast, creme brulee and a wisp of pineapple, this balanced, solidly constructed effort can be served today alongside most white-fleshed fishes now or over the next several years.
90 (one puff) Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2006
Mr. Ramey's Russian River designate marches right in step with his other delightful releases, and, in this case, focuses on sweet, Fuji apple succulence that is nicely fit to a layer of spicy oak. It is quite full and attractively open on the palate and takes on an oily, glyceriny texture from front to back and furthers the notion that this is a wine to enjoy without further delay. It will partner nicely with savory chicken dishes.
89 (one puff) Ramey Chardonnay Carneros District 2006
The least open of the Ramey bunch in this Issue may, over time, rate with its mates, but for the moment, it is a touch tighter and relies on a mix of minerally and citrus notes for its central focus. Nominally as ripe as the wine above, this one is leaner in palate impression, but the admirable length of its bright, brisk flavors makes it one to think of with white fishes and shellfish now and over the next few years.
August 2008
91 (two puffs) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard Oakville 2005
Yet another lavish and enormously extracted, no-holds-barred Cabernet from David Ramey, this pricey bottling is the most dear of the lot?and with due cause. Intense, highly ripened, but never too ripe, and absolutely swimming in lovely oak, it is a powerhouse wine whose keen varietal focus never once wavers despite its ripeness, its oak and its imposing young tannins. It has more places to go, and it will need longer to get there, than the other Ramey offerings, and, in eight to ten years, it should start to spread its wings.
90 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Jericho Canyon Vineyard Napa Valley 2005
Unabashedly ripe and redolent of black plum preserves, loamy earth, chocolate and very sweet oak, this blunderbuss Cabernet has enormous muscle to go with its very big bones, and it will never be called an "elegant" wine. It will never be called a wall-flower either, and, even if it sits just on the brink of being a bit overdone, it has the richness, the size and the real fruity depth to justify its swagger.
88 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Larkmead Vineyard Napa Valley 2005
8% Cabernet Franc; 7% Petit Verdot; 1% Malbec. The Ramey Cabernet family shares a strong bias to ripeness and size, and this big, highly extracted, chocolate-laced wine falls right into step. Like its mates, it is more brawny than well-bred, but it will never be faulted for lack of stuffing. Thick and tough and a little sere at the end, it is a bit soft given its ten-year tannins, and it should hit its peak in half the time.
88 (one puff) Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2005
13% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 3% Malbec. Largely directed by its dense, black cherry fruit but showing a green peppercorn note and hints of dried weeds here and there, this gusty, well-extracted working makes no pretenses to polish. It is the kind of Cabernet that begs one to wait for a few years at least, and its fruit fights its way through its gruff finishing tannins in a manner that encourages keeping.
90 (one puff) Ramey Claret Napa Valley 2005
54% Cabernet Sauvignon; 24% Merlot; 12% Cabernet Franc; 7% Syrah; 2% Other. A bit of Cabernet's briary spice combines with Merlot's cherry-like fruit and suggestions of dried herbs in the nose, but once in the mouth, this sturdy wine is clearly cut from Cabernet cloth and its passing polish gives way to firmness and ample young tannins. Age looks a sure cure for the wine's present roughness, and its central stuffing assures that seven or eight years of age will be well met.
July 2008
90 (one puff) Ramey Syrah Sonoma Coast 2005
5% Viognier. Hard-charging ripeness is met by immensely deep fruit in this altogether extravagant wine, and, while there are no claims to finesse here, there is no shortage of extract or of real varietal spice. It begs the question of how much of a good thing is too much, but for all of its tannins and obvious heat, it is as rich a Syrah as one is likely to find, and, given a half-dozen years in the cellar, it will make a memorable match for the heartiest, most savory meat dishes.
October 2007
93 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2005
The best of Ramey's three new appellation bottlings starts out with attention-getting aromas of sweet cream, caramel and lots very deep and keenly defined ripe-apple fruit, and its beautifully composed flavors are likewise appointed with plentiful fruit and filled out with lovely oak. As well-balanced as it is so very rich, it shows terrific latter-palate extension with its very finely fit acids bringing brightness and length. It can easily take a few years of age, and, given its resounding success, we can only wonder at how good the winery's upcoming single-vineyard releases from 2005 might be.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Carneros District 2005
Yet another deep and generously filled working with a fine fit of keenly defined fruit and sweet barrel-spice, this layered and well-balanced wine again exhibits plenty of substance without being the least bit beholden to ripeness. Its integral acids lend a note of verve and tension to its rich and long-lasting finish, and, while we would not argue against enjoying a glass or two now with lightly sauced lobster or salmon, it promises to expand and improve over time.
87 Ramey Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2005
While there is a fair bit of ripe fruit at work in this wine, there is never so much nor is it as well-defined as in either of the other Ramey releases, and the wine is seemingly at odds with itself at the moment being both a bit fat at the front and slightly tight and almost austere at the end. Time may work in its favor, but the prognosis is less certain here, and, in the end, this one holds the shortest straw of the trio.
June 2006
95 (three puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard 2003 Russian River Valley
Complex and fruity at the same time, this impressive wine starts with nuances of roasted grains and creamy oak layered amidst its deep, expansively-fruited aromas. Somewhat fleshy and firmly balanced on the palate in the style of the best Ramey bottlings, it boasts an enormous reservoir of vitality that brightens its multi-faceted personality, and its polish and succulence hold on well at the end in its admirably lengthy finish. It is delicious today yet should age exceptionally well.
92 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley 2004
Ramey's superb single-vineyard offerings have always struck us having a remarkable balance of winemaking richness and high-energy fruit, and so, too, it seems do the winery's appellation bottlings. This impressively crafted effort is shot through with very deep, optimally ripened appley fruit and comes complete with a full measure of keenly fit oak. It is at once both viscous and alive on the palate, and its potent expressions of creamy oak spice, unstinting fruit and real concentration are sustained through a long, wonderfully well-focused finish.
92 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Carneros 2004
Although its generous aromas of toast, lees, sweet butter and very ripe apples convey a real impression of substance and size, this working turns out to be surprisingly light on its feet with a bright, citrusy trim to its very lively, fresh fruit flavors, while oak provides plenty of richness. Much in the manner of its Sonoma Coast counterpart below, it has an eye to both substance and energy, and there is little question that it is on a two-or-three-year track to appreciable growth.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2004
While very much showing Ramey's typical richness and careful melding of lively fruit, creamy oak and complexing lees, this one is a bit narrow and more tightly drawn than its siblings with a streak of brisk acidity firming its latter palate and finish. If we were to pull its cork now, we would opt for service with meaty fish, but its depth signals clear potential for improvement with age, and we would opt first for letting it sit quietly for a couple more years.
90 (one puff) Ramey Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard 2003 Napa Valley Carneros
The usual Ramey richness and layering are quite evident here, but the central fruit seems just a tad less forceful than in the other bottlings reviewed above. The nose is focused on ripe and green apples, and both oak and slightly toast notes show up as enriching adjuncts to the wine's central character. Firm at the end, the wine can open a bit with age, but it offers less promise than its mates.
January 2006
91 (two puffs) Ramey Carneros District 2003 Napa Valley
Creamy oak and scents of sweet butter add complex layering to the deeply fruity, Gala apples smells occupying the center of this very attractive Chardonnay. It is full-bodied in palate weight and boasts impeccable balance that keeps it spry and admirably light on its feet despite a rich, almost coating texture. Long and oaky at the finish, it is a wine that will mate well with buttery lobster preparations in the here and now yet has the stuffing and zest for a few years of bottle age.
90 (one puff) Ramey Sonoma Coast 2003
If a little bit less forthcoming than its cellarmate above, this one is growing nicely into its keenly focused, decently concentrated Meyer lemon and Gala apple fruitiness. Its medium-volume nose and its rounded, rich, oily entry to the palate promise to carry the wine forward while its firm, vital flavors fill out further, if one is to drink it today, rather than waiting for a year or so, then look at tangy seafood as its partner.
Ramey Russian River Valley 2003
On the right track in its sweet, vibrant aromas of lemons, sweet pears and crisp apples with hints of butter and crème brulée for richness, the nose of this nicely put together wine presages its similarly attractive and bountiful flavor profile. If things swing a bit towards raggedness in the finish, the wine needs only time in bottle or service with tangy shellfish or chicken preparations to show its better side.
March 2005
93 (two puffs) Ramey Hyde Vineyard 2002 Napa Valley Carneros
While among the most involving and deepest offerings to be found in this survey, this exceptionally well-balanced bottling finds a bit more brightness and buoyancy than most wines of its weight and range manage to muster. It is loaded with fruit and generously oaked, and it stays both rich and fairly light on its feet through to its very long, impressively layered finish. As wholly seductive as it is right now, it can only get better with age, and we look forward to positive growth for another three or four years.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Ritchie Vineyard 2002 Russian River Valley
This rich and energetic Chardonnay is very much cast in the Ramey model and presents a lovely, neatly proportioned, quite complex combination of deep fruit, minerals and sweet oak spice. It is full-bodied and impeccably balanced with a fleshy mouth feel, a lengthy finish and plenty of intensity. Like its siblings, it is thoroughly satisfying at present but displays lots of room for certain improvement if set aside for a further few years of cellaring.
89 (one puff) Ramey Hudson Vineyard 2002 Napa Valley Carneros
This marginally lighter Chardonnay is gifted with plenty of forward apple and citrus-like fruitiness and is dressed up with a good bit of creamy oak. It is a wee bit less weighty and is brightened by lots of fruity acidity, and if a bit too rich to consider for service with simple shellfish dishes, it is sure to shine with teamed with sundry richly-sauced seafoods or paired with similarly prepared chicken entrees over the next two or three years.
December 2004
91 (two puffs) Ramey Jericho Canyon Vineyard Napa Valley 2002
A quick check of the labels shows 14.7% alcohol here, but there is little about this wine that indicates such ripeness. Its main traits are poise, proportion and balance of fruit to the fore of its deftly placed oak. It smacks of ripe cherries, vanilla and a bit of milk chocolate and its sustained, lightly tannin-firmed finish is marked by the same sense of finesse that marks every step of its carefully crafted course.
88 Ramey Diamond Mountain District Napa Valley 2002
So obviously concerned with ripeness and very sweet oak as to almost make secondary its expressions of specific fruit, this lush and supple effort is never far removed from milk chocolate in character and comes with a trailing bit of evident heat. It does not have the sturdy, tannic aspects of a wine built for lengthy age, and its plumper style suggest that it will reach its peak in something like three to four years.
87 Ramey Claret Napa Valley 2002
Marked by plenty of winemaking polish and filling the niche of a well-mannered middleweight, this appropriately titled effort eschews mass, muscle and tannins in favor of clarity and clear-cut fruit. It finds finesse in spite of its evident ripeness, and, if hardly a wine with the strength for a decade of age, it will stand up well for several years yet.
October 2004
91 (two puffs) Ramey Carneros District 2002
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.
89 Ramey Russian River Valley 2002
Generous in character from its intense aromas of sweet citrus and toasty, spicy oak to its leesy, nutty overlays, this wine offers deep complex aromas that are followed in spirit if not quite in volume by its ripe fruit and highly oaked flavors. It runs into a fair bit of finishing hardness, however, and finds itself slightly held back relative to its mate above.
December 2003
2003 Winery of the Year – Ramey Wine Cellars
Stephen Elliot – The Top Ten Wines of 2003
Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Jericho Canyon 2001
Ramey Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard 2000
Charles Olken – The Top Ten Wines of 2003
Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Jericho Canyon 2001
Ramey Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard 2001
95 (three puffs) Ramey Jericho Canyon Vineyard Napa Valley 2001
45% Cabernet Sauvignon; 36% Merlot; 10% Cabernet Franc. Deep, concentrated and conveying a fine sense of potency in its complex, richly oaked and optimally ripened black cherry and currant aromas, this big, broad-beamed opus is positively plush on the palate with a wealth of well-extracted fruit that is met step for step by lots of lovely sweet oak spice. While a touch of last-minute heat proves a slight distraction just now, the wine has the relentless fruit and stunning sense of depth to make it an all but guaranteed bet for aging, and it looks good to go for another eight to ten years.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Diamond Mountain District 2001
Napa Valley. 66% Cabernet Sauvignon; 15% Merlot; 12% Petit Verdot. The ripest of the Ramey lot, this imposing, full-bodied, palate-coating effort is long on chocolate and oaky spice, yet it also sports a wealth of deep, black cherry fruit and lots of the loamy, black-earth complexities of serious Cabernet Sauvignon. Richness rather than refinement is its first concern, and, if that richness comes at the cost of some toughness and latter-palate heat, the wine is as well packed at the end as it is at the start, and it will grow for years.
95 (three puffs) Ramey Hudson Vineyard Carneros 2001
Napa Valley. Gorgeous oak serves as a constant counterpoint to the intense ripe apple themes that drive this captivating wine, and, while quite rich in every respect, the wine is also carefully composed, neatly balanced and never close to begin overblown. It tends to a bit to firmness in the latter going, but its persistent citrusy ending suggests that increased complexity and further expansion will await those whose exercise a few more years of patience before pulling its cork.
93 (two puffs) Ramey Hyde Vineyard Carneros 2001
Napa Valley. Here is a wonderfully refined offering whose poise and careful sense of composition comes with no dearth of fruity depth and compelling richness. Smelling of green apples, toast and minerals, it is long and layered on the palate with insistent impression of nervy young fruit punctuated with notes of stony spice and laced with vanillin oak. Always lively and light on its feet, it promises to grow with time and should serve famously with richer seafood recipes.
June 2003
92 (two puffs) Ramey Russian River Valley 2001
The first in a pair of handsomely crafted Chardonnays from a maker who recognition is bound to grow and grow, these two are David Ramey’s “Appellation” bottlings – as opposed to those that he designates by vineyard source. This one takes its cue from bright, sunny, sweet apple fruitiness and might seem a bit too simple were it not for the steely, French-like structure that gives an energetic boost to the endeavor while suggesting a sense of reserve and refinement.
91 (two puffs) Ramey Carneros 2001
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 year s of aging, but there is a lot to like in this one even now.
February 2003
92 (two puffs) Ramey Hudson Vineyard Carneros 2000
Napa Valley. Not dissimilar from the Ramey’s Hyde bottling, this one is perhaps a little brighter in its aromas with a nice whiff of Fuji apple adding its charms to the richness of sweet oak and a note of roasted grains,. Full and fleshy at entry, then firmer across the palate, this one sets its brisk acids in comfortable juxtaposition to ripe fruit flavors and a touch of glycerin sweetness. It would work with the oily fishes.
95 (three puffs) Ramey Hyde Vineyard Carneros 2000
Napa Valley. Outgoing and inviting, this wine smells of sweet apples and roasted Meyer lemons with enriching notes of crème brulee in support. Fairly full=-bodied and oily in texture, it shows a distinct, caramelized vanilla, toasted oak overlay to its deeply cast, ripe fruit flavors before finding a firmer, tighter stance as it reaches into a long, brisk aftertaste. In all truth, this stunningly deep wine probably needs a year or two in bottle to fully open up and promises to be even more enjoyable if allowed the time to gain the patina of maturity.
89 (one puff) Ramey Russian River Valley 2000
Its somewhat frontal Russian River fruit gives this wine a slightly different outlook, yet the winemaker’s hand is always evident in the leesy, oaky aromas and again in the ripe, glycerin-sweetened flavors. The tart acids of its siblings are again part of this wine and serve to narrow things up a touch towards the finish. This one might show at its enjoyable best with something rich and tangy like linguini with clam sauce.
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