“Pale, bright yellow. Shows less aromatic lift and primary fruit on the nose than the 2009, offering musky scents of marzipan, nuts, oatmeal, clove and smoke. Richer and creamier than the 2009, in a distinctly fatter style, displaying a hint of caramel but not the primary fruit character of the ’09. Finishes with a slightly dry, phenolic edge. This wine does not have the balance of the superb ’09. Ramey told me he picked during a ten-day heat wave and that, with labor short, it was a logistical nightmare. He acidified the ’08 by an average of 1.7 grams per liter.”

–91 pts, Stephen Tanzer, vinous, July 2017

Located in gently rolling terrain north of Carneros Highway, the soils are quite heavy clay. Vine selection is old Wente, Robert Young and Long Vineyards – each a Wente selection themselves – ranging in age from 10 to 29 years old. The Wente is marked by very small grape clusters, with small berries, and the so-called ‘hen-and-chick’