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 silkytexture and savory flavor.
Blend: 91% Syrah and 9% Viognier, co-fermented
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
One of the best wines from Ramey in this vintage, the 2021 Syrah Sonoma Coast offers outstanding aromatics of fresh black pepper, pure blackberries, gravelly earth, and fresh lavender. Medium to full-bodied, as it opens it shows a more mineral-toned profile, and it’s weightless on the palate, with ripe tannins and an elegant finish. I love this wine. Elegant all the way through, it’s a stunner without being flashy. It’s Drink 2024-2045.
-
James Suckling
This peppery, smoky wine from cool-climate grapes dramatically shows off the grape variety’s complexity on an elegant frame. Full-bodied but not fat, it’s braced by moderate tannins and filled with blackberry, black pepper and grilled meat flavors that stimulate the palate and linger on the finish. Drink now or hold.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Syrah Sonoma Coast was co-fermented with 9% Viognier and vinified with 25% whole clusters. It’s pure and expressive on the nose, its blackcurrant and blueberry fruit accented by wafts of cardamom, black olives, wild fennel, candied violets and charcuterie. The medium-bodied palate is rounded and bright with detailed flavors and a long, perfumed, layered finish.
-
Wine Spectator
Brooding yet structured and polished, with expressive blueberry and blackberry flavors that are accented with cured meat and white pepper tones as this builds tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2033.
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.