Ramey Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2015
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The Sonoma Coast Chardonnay shows great depth of flavor, length of finish, aromatic complexity, and a fine balance between richness and delicacy.
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Wine Enthusiast
This combines grapes from the Martinelli family's Charles Ranch Vineyard in Fort Ross-Seaview with grapes from Platt Vineyard, a site long sourced by Ramey overlooking the Pacific Ocean near Freestone—the producer's coolest site. It melds exotic ginger with apple skin, melon rind and bright focused acidity that remains fresh, succulent and lingering.
Editors' Choice -
Jeb Dunnuck
Starting with the appellation 2015 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast, this is a terrific, classic effort that’s a great introduction into the style of the estate. Citrus blossom, honeysuckle, white flowers, and marzipan notes flow to a medium-bodied, fresh, elegant Chardonnay that still has depth, intensity, and length.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2015 Ramey Sonoma Coast Chardonnay shows excellent saturation and balance. TASTING NOTES: This wine is built and elevated on the palate. Pair its aromas and flavors creamy oak, ripe core fruits, and mineral notes with a serving of wild mushroom accented rotisserie chicken. (Tasted: May 13, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast has a gorgeous nose of warm apples, spiced pears and guava with touches of ginger and honeyed almonds. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers mouth-filling apple and spice flavors with a satiny texture and a long, lively finish.
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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, work at the winery as well. They have been training under their father and working in various roles across the winery, from vineyards to production to winemaking and more. Over the years, a team of highly talented colleagues have joined the winery where they continually push to make the best wines possible. Ramey Wine Cellars crafts exceptional expressions of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir from top vineyards in Sonoma and Napa. Tastings are offered by appointment in Healdsburg, California.
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 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.