Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
– by Charles Olken & Stephen Eliot
Best Wines of the Year 2015
In our last musings on the year just passed, we commented on the fact that we gave out fewer high awards in 2014 than were the norm. The tricky 2010 and 2011 vintages had high points and low, and they made for very mixed results. During 2015, however, we were faced with an absolute embarrassment of riches, and picking our favorites of the year is a far more difficult, if happy task.
White Wines Of The Year
RAMEY Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Carneros 2012 and RAM’S GATE Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard Carneros 2013 Larry Hyde’s meticulously farmed vineyard in Carneros was the source of both of our two white-wine picks of the bunch for 2015. They are extraordinarily well-crafted Chardonnays from perennially high-scoring producers, and they remind just how significant a great site can be.
