Winemaker Notes
Coming from special vineyard sites, Ramey Chardonnays show great depth of flavor, length of finish, aromatic complexity, and a fine balance between richness and delicacy. Typically, the climate is cool and the soil vigor low, producing graceful yet vibrant wines.
After 20 months in 20% new François Frères French oak barrels, the Chardonnay is traditionally fined for clarity and texture and bottled without filtration.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Great flavor concentration and a nicely taut structure define this beautifully balanced wine. It is refreshing and rich at the same time, carrying light lemon zest and green-apple skin accents on a delicious base of quince and Gravenstein apples, while gently coated with subtle shades of toasted oak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Chardonnay Woolsey Road Vineyard was harvested on August 17th before the wildfire smoke arrived, and with its pure, mineral-driven expression, it's worth cellaring for several years. The nose opens with iodine and nori tones that give way to pretty scents of panna cotta, spring honey and lilac. The medium-bodied palate is buzzing with shimmery acidity that enlivens its perfumed fruit, and it has a long, saline-driven finish.
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Wine Spectator
Shows juicy apple and pear flavors that are crisp and sleek, with lemon meringue, ginger and tropical hints on an appealingly dense, fleshy frame. Delivering details of toasted herbs and minerality, this is harmonious and expressive on the long 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.