Winemaker Notes
2017 began with a very wet winter. The summer was mild until a significant heatwave around Labor Day sent winemakers and growers scrambling to pick the first wave of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. After the heat wave, temperatures were warm and steady, allowing winemakers to make picking decisions based on optimal fruit maturity rather than impending weather. Our harvest started Aug 21st with the final Merlot from Carneros arriving on October 10th. Yields were very close to projections while fruit quality ranged from great to exceptional, with well-preserved acids, great color and good varietal expression.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Golden fruits, caramelized pineapple, spice, and some salty mineral notes all emerge from the 2017 Chardonnay Russian River Valley, one of the more upfront, approachable, fruit-driven wines in the lineup. Nevertheless, it has the purity of fruit, balance, and length that's shared by all of these Chardonnay from Ramey. It's a great introduction into the wines of this estate and ideal for drinking while you give the single vineyard releases bottle age.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Russian River Valley has a lush perfume of quince paste, honeycomb, candle smoke and hay. The palate is medium to full-bodied, rounded and savory with great freshness to lift the long, nutty finish.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.