Winemaker Notes
The cool Carneros winds led to a slow and steady ripening allowing beautiful flavor development and Ram's Gate's last Chardonnay pick of 2018. The medley of the two clones plays wonderfully together, the Robert Young showing apple tart and chai-spice while the Musqué is more stone fruited with white peach and apricot. Partial malolactic gives lovely texture in the mid-palate while the chalky salinity provides plenty of freshness that points to a long aging curve for this wine.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Steely and made in an elegant, refined style, this vineyard-designate impresses in its grasp of stone and floral qualities: floral on the nose and linear in vibrant acidity. Green apple, pear and Meyer lemon compound a sophisticated, textured varietal expression.
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.
Known for elegant wines that combine power and finesse, Carneros is set in the rolling hills that straddle the southernmost parts of both Sonoma and Napa counties. The cooling winds from the abutting San Pablo Bay, combined with lots of midday California sunshine, create an ideal environment for producing wines with a perfect balance of crisp acidity and well-ripened fruit.
This cooler pocket of California lends itself to growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Carneros is an important source of sparkling wines made in the style of Champagne as well.