Winemaker Notes
Ramey Syrahs are grown in the cool climate of the Sonoma Coast which offers a style reminiscent of the Northern Rhone regions of Hermitage and Cornas: aromas and flavors of smoked meat, white pepper, green olive and grapefruit, coupled with a silky texture and savory flavor.
Blend: 92% Syrah and 8% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2016 Syrah Sonoma Coast, a dead ringer for an outstanding Cote Rotie with its gamey, olive, flower, and sweet red and black fruit-driven aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, with silky tannin and no hard edges, it’s a smoking good, complex, layered Syrah to enjoy over the coming decade.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Ramey Sonoma Coast Syrah shows excellent mouthcoating palate textures. TASTING NOTES: This lovely wine deftly combines richness with subtlety and finesse. Pair its power-packed aromas and flavors of red and black fruit with a slowly-braised beef stew. (Tasted: May 13, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Offers precision and presence, with handsome currant, crushed stone and smoked pepper flavors that take on structure along the way to big but refined tannins. Best from 2021 through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep ruby-purple colored and containing 8% Viognier, the 2016 Syrah Sonoma Coast is shy to begin, opening to red and black cherries, smoked meats, olive, bitter chocolate and crushed stone with warm blackcurrants, aniseed and dried violets. It's medium to full-bodied with intense, mineral-tinged fruits and savory nuances. It has a frame of ripe, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long. 866 cases produced. Rating: 91+
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.