Ramey Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2013

After graduating from Santa Cruz with a degree in American literature, David Ramey suddenly realized that he wanted to make wine. Perhaps all that Hemmingway seeped into his soul. It seems a pretty good trade, making delicious Chardonnay instead of having to read another Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, result! No offence Nathaniel it’s just we love Chardonnay and you spent quite some time plagiarising the work of Edgar Allen Poe… allegedly.

The Ramey Wine Cellars are renowned as one of the finest Chardonnay producers in Sonoma, a wonderfully full yet perfectly balanced wine – a true American legend! If only we could say the same for ‘The Blithedale Romance,’ isn’t that right Nathaniel?

David Ramey after completing a degree in American Literature realized he wanted to pursue a career in wine. Therefore, he had to return to school to catch up on chemistry and other courses and then he enrolled in the oenology department at UC Davis. After a stint at Château Pétrus in Bordeaux in 1979, Mr. Ramey returned to Northern California with a more nuanced vision of winemaking than the technocentric version he'd been steeped in at Davis, and became one of the leaders of the post-Mondavi generation who helped make the '90s a golden age for Napa and Sonoma.

Mr. Ramey went to Matanzas Creek, where he made some of the first serious Napa Valley Merlots. Moving on to Chalk Hill, he garnered attention for his Chardonnays. He went on to make acclaimed Cabernet-based wines at Dominus and Rudd, while founding his eponymous winery in 1996.

The grapes are whole-bunch pressed for delicacy, native-yeast barrel fermentation (12 months), aging sur lies with bâtonnage, and full native malolactic fermentation. After spending the following vintage in tank, the wines are bottled without filtration. The resultant Chardonnay shows pronounced flavours of citrus zest, green apple, melon and soft spice. The creamy texture is perfectly balanced with a refreshing acidity, culminating a long, graceful finish.