2009 Vintage

93-95 Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2011
Glass-staining purple. Wild, exotically perfumed aromas of dark berries, mocha and Moroccan spices, plus a whiff of incense. Then velvety and seamless in the mouth, with an alluring sweetness to the dark berry compote, spicecake and violet pastille flavors. Pliant in texture but with good nervy spine contributing definition. Finishes with fine-grained tannins and a whiplash of candied flowers. This is aging in 100% new French barriques.

2008 Vintage

94 Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2011
Glass-staining purple. Highly complex nose and palate feature black and blue fruits, spicecake, floral oil and smoky minerals. Shows seductive sweetness, excellent depth and a pliant, seamless texture. Fine-grained tannins add shape to the extremely long, spicy finish. This wine's intensity and focus are outstanding. This was just bottled so it saw over two years of barrel aging. Ramey is intrigued by the possibilities of extended elevage for syrah and intimated that he might push his 2009s even farther out.

93-95 Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate February 2011
Outrageously opulent, thick, inky and impressive, the 2008 Syrah Rodger’s Creek Vineyard displays notes of lard, ink, graphite, blackberries and cassis. This opulent, full-bodied, thick, juicy Syrah should drink well for a decade or more.

92 Wine Spectator January 31-February 29, 2012
An exotic mix of cool-climate Syrah, with loamy earth, roasted herb, crushed rock, black licorice and tobacco flavors, yet for all its size, this is a graceful and elegant wine, ending peppery. Drink now through 2022.

95 The Rhone Report, Issue 10, December 2011
Wow, a totally smoking Syrah, the 2008 Ramey Syrah Rodger's Creek Vineyard, 100% Syrah fermented with ~30% whole cluster and aged for 28 months in 75% new French oak, delivers a brilliant bouquet of black currant, smoked meats, bay leaf, bacon fat, and graphite that carries into a full-bodied, rich, and awesomely concentrated palate. Despite the overall size here, this has fantastic detail, a pure, lifted texture, and more than enough structure to keep this aging well for 10-12+ years.

2007 Vintage

93 Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2010
Glass-staining ruby. Dark berries and cherry-cola on the nose, with subtle smoke, vanilla, olive and licorice notes adding complexity. Fleshy and gently sweet, with deep, expansive blackberry and cassis flavors, slow-building tannins and very good back-end lift. The finish emphatically repeats the dark berry notes and lingers with lively, spicy persistence. Drinking very well right now, in a youthfully exuberant fashion, but clearly built to age. This was raised in 100% new oak but I don't sense it.

94 Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate February 2011
Even better is the compelling 2007 Syrah Rodger’s Creek Vineyard. Absolutely sensational, it offers notes of bacon fat intermixed with roast beef, spice box, pepper, coffee, blackberry and camphor. Full-bodied, fleshy, dense and well-endowed, this is a beauty to enjoy over the next decade or more.

90 (one puff) Connoisseurs' Guide March 2011
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.

93 Wine Spectator January 31-February 28, 2011
Firm, intense and concentrated, offering a solid, layered core of rich berry and mineral notes, with touches of cherry and rhubarb. Ends with a tar and tobacco aftertaste and tannins that give the flavors traction. Drink now through 2020.

92 California Grapevine, Vol. 37, No. 1, February-March 2011
Medium-dark ruby; attractive, forward, intense, complex, black cherry and blackberry jam aroma with notes of graphite, dark chocolate, and bacon fat; full body; big, rich, textured, concentrated, very ripe blackberry fruit flavors with firm acidity and notes of sage, black pepper, and charred oak; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.

2006 Vintage

94 Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar May/June 2009
Deep, bright ruby. Highly expressive bouquet of blackcurrant and boysenberry, with sexy floral and spice notes adding vivacity. Lively red and dark fruit flavors gain an exotic floral quality with air and become spicier on the back end. Impressively vibrant syrah, with excellent finishing clarity and sweet persistence. As with the barrel samples of '07 that I also tasted, this is more energetic than the Shanel.  

92 Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate December 2008
The dense opaque purple-hued 2006 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard offers aromas of melted chocolate, ground pepper, exotic peach and lychee nuts (5% Viognier is co-fermented), and an earthy, blackberry, smoky mid-palate as well as finish.  Enjoy this superb Syrah over the next decade.

87 (one puff) Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, Volume 33 Issue 9: July 2009
Now, there is no question but that we are real fans of the wines that Mr. Ramey makes, and there is lots to like in this deep and stridently spicy exposition of black fruits and smoked meats, yet for all of its richness and varietal punch, the wine is presently an awkward tangle of frontal fatness, toughening tannins and rigid back-palate acids. If and when its disparate parts might come together is a question only answered with time, and, it there is real reason for hope, we cannot say that its aging comes with clear guarantee.

92 Wine Spectator October 31, 2009
Firm and concentrated, with spicy, peppery beef jerky and berry flavors that are rich with a loamy earth base. Finishes with a full-bodied, complex mix of savory berry, herb, tar, licorice and tobacco. Drink now through 2017.

88 California Grapevine, Vol. 35, No. 4, August-September 2009
Medium-dark brickish ruby; relatively mature, earthy, cedary, toasty, dark cherry and blackberry fruit aroma with overtones of creamy oak and black pepper; full body; big, rich, thick, highly extracted, cedary, layered, very ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors; full tannin; cedary finish; lingering aftertaste. Highly recommended.

2005 Vintage

93  The International Wine Review June 2008
The opaque ruby 2005 Rodgers Creek offers scents and flavors of blackberry liqueur fruit with herbs and black pepper. It is smooth and soft on the attack revealing lush dense fruit, well proportioned ripe tannins and a long finish.

92  Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar May/June 2007
Deep ruby. Intensely aromatic nose offers potent cassis, blackberry, licorice and floral notes. Sexy and impressively pure, with bright red and dark berry flavors underscored by zesty mineral and pepper notes. There's more than a suggestion of the Northern Rhone here. Shows great energy and punch on the finish, which boasts outstanding persistence and a very sexy combination of fruits and spices. Ramey says that this is a particularly cool site.

94  Robert M. Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate 12-22-06
The 2005 Syrah Rodger's Creek Vineyard boasts a black/purple color as well as abundant notes of crushed pepper, incense, Chinese black tea, plums, tapenade, and blackberries. It reminds me of a 2003 Clape Cornas from the Rhone Valley. Huge, tannic, and promising, it will drink well for 8-12 years.