Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A true blockbuster, the 2010 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard reminds me of a top Hermitage from the likes of Michel Chapoutier. Incredible notes of smoked meats, licorice, graphite, and black, meaty fruits all flow to a powerful, full-bodied Syrah that has a stacked mid-palate, a layered texture, and an awesome finish. It’s a killer bottle of wine that’s drinking great today yet has another decade of longevity. I wish there were more Syrah from Sonoma with this level of depth and density!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep ruby colored 2010 Syrah Rodger's Creek Vineyard, containing 7% Viognier, opens sanguine, with notes of iron, pipe tobacco, old leather, anise, game meats and dried red and black cherries, fleshing out to cassis and lilac with time. Medium to full-bodied, it's silky and rounded in the mouth with loads of savory fruit layers and amazing, cocoa powder-like tannins and well-woven acidity, finishing very long, silky and savory. This still has plenty of life ahead but is drinking beautifully now! 283 cases were made.
David Ramey is among a distinguished group of pioneering American vintners who revolutionized modern-day winemaking and elevated California to the forefront of the international wine community. Hailed as “Professor Chardonnay” by Wine Spectator, David's groundbreaking work with indigenous yeasts, sur lies aging and malolactic and barrel fermentation yielded a new California Chardonnay style that was richer, more lush and silky smooth. Ramey Wine Cellars crafts exceptional expressions of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir from top vineyards in Sonoma and Napa.
After earning a graduate degree at UC Davis, with his thesis on how aromas evolve in wine, David Ramey pursued a hands-on education in Old World winemaking traditions. He worked at Chateau Pétrus and would later apply these time-honored methods to California’s premier vineyards. In California, David led winemaking for Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus Estate and Rudd Estate. In 1996, David and his wife Carla founded Ramey Wine Cellars with the vision of crafting classically styled, elegant and balanced wines that age beautifully.
Still exclusively owned by the Rameys, the next generation, Claire and Alan Ramey, became co-presidents of the winery in 2021. Claire and Alan began working at the winery in 2013 and have been cross-trained in all aspects of winery operations. Decanter greeted the news of Ramey’s status as a multigenerational winery by saying: "its reputation as a touchstone for world-class Chardonnay remains firmly in place… The Ramey family is expected to go from strength to strength." The vision is unwavering: to make classic wines from Sonoma and Napa that belong amongst the world's best. Tastings are offered by appointment in Healdsburg.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.