Ramey Wine Cellars

One of the most educational tastings I’ve done. If you can get in here, do it. But give it plenty of time, at least an hour and a half and do not be late. They wait for everyone to arrive before they start. A+

Been a huge fan of Ramey since my last trip out to wine country last November. Pulling up to Ramey was almost like, showing up at the North Pole as a child to meet Santa Claus. Giddy. The tasting room was what i expected, because i read previous Unilocal reviews, but it was pleasant, and well lit and already set up for us. The tasting had to be reserved ahead of time, so it was us and 4 other people sitting around a large meeting table.
We tasted 8 different wines, 4 white and 4 red, from their current releases. All delicious. Ramey’s representative was well spoken, and knowledgable of the wines. I had saved room in my luggage to bring many bottles of Ramey home, but the one downside was that Ramey didn’t offer a discount with buying bottles with the tasting.
At our tasting, we were informed they bought some property and will be opening up a new visitor center, with i believe a new tasting room so its less «warehouse» and more welcoming. However… going to the ladies room and seeing all the 2014 Chardonnay in the barrels across the room was very exciting to me. I didn’t mind the set up, i was there for the wine. THANK YOU RAMEY

David Ramey, winemaker and proprietor, shoveled his first grapes in 1978, after attending UC Santa Cruz and then later to Davis for a masters in enology. Ramey’s first harvests were in Sonoma in ’78 and France in ’79 at Jean-​Pierre Moueix. (Petrus was one the wineries also managed by Moueix.) Ramey came back in ’80 and then spent the next 22 years at Simi, Matanzas Creek, Château Petrus again, Chalk Hill, Dominus and Rudd.
In ’96 Ramey had the opportunity to make his own wine, a Chardonnay from Hyde Vineyard. Once his wife agreed, he made 260 cases in his first vintage. Today Ramey has released the 2011 from the exact same vineyard. Ramey Wine Cellars makes 40,000 cases, in what Ramey calls a «large small winery.» Co-​owned with his wife, Ramey has no partners or investors.
Ramey told us that he purchased a vineyard with an old «Hop Kiln» on the property. He plans on converting the hop kiln into a tasting room and building caves for a winery. The property sits along the Russian River and is called Westside Farms. It has 42 acres planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He is working on the permitting process now and would like to complete the project by 2017.
In 1987 at Matanzas Creek Winery, Ramey was one of the first winemaker in California to whole cluster press Chardonnay grapes, and he is considered a legend in the industry. His Chardonnays are made in a French Burgundian style and flavor, and he goes for more «lift» with California ripening grapes. None of the wines are filtered; they are fined using traditional French methods.
Communications Director Alexandra O’Gorman led us through a tasting of four whites and four reds.
(Aroma and flavor notes separated by ;)
2012 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (2012 — 2014 all drought years*)
The only one that was cloudy, definitely due to being unfiltered; oak, butter, crisp apple; tart apples, white pepper, nice bite with a long acidic finish. Like a Sauvignon Blanc with some oak notes.
2012 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
Lemon lime, grapefruit, vanilla; toasted oak, same fruit, not as acidic a finish, more balanced.
2011 Ritchie Vineyard Chardonnay
Pear, cinnamon, creamy; tart, acidic, oak more prominent on palate, nice balanced finish.
2011 Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay
Rose gardens, butterscotch, medium toasted oak; more oak, moist yet dry, tart Granny Smith apples.
2012 Sonoma Coast Syrah (Make 2 different Syrahs per year)
Pungent plums, juicy blackberry and black cherry, spice rack, mulled wine notes; beautiful, stemmy, lots of black pepper and dried dark fruit. ‘
2012 Claret
Bright red to blue fruits, black pepper, smoke; Exceptional blend of fruit from all over Napa Valley, dry, cigar, dark chocolate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot. ‘
2012 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Ramey makes four different Cabernet Sauvignon based wines per year.)
Balanced fruit and spice on the nose, including cherry, menthol; great dark drying fruit, not too peppery, ready to drink.
2011 Annum Cabernet Sauvignon (25% Cabernet Franc)
Velvety rose, plum, cigar box; deep and dark fruit, not too much pepper, lovely balance.
*As far as any issues caused by the drought, in 2014 Ramey received 20% more fruit than anticipated.

We had a tasting at Ramey as part of a day of tastings. The tasting is on the second floor of their warehouse with a view of the vats & the floor. While this winery had good wines (7 glasses — 4 red and 3 white) as others have mentioned, I wouldn’t do this tasting again as there are so many fabulous winerys close by without the same drawbacks.
Good:
The wines were very tasty, and as this is a producer that makes thousands of cases, you may be able to find the wine back home in your wine store or in a restaurant.
Patrice was very nice and very knowledgeable. She gave a lot of good information about the winery, the history, and wine in general.
Not so good:
The tasting was $ 25/​person and needed to be paid in advance. In addition, there was no discount or benefit to buying the wine, unlike every other tasting we have done in Napa or Sonoma.
The tasting was the tasting, even if you were buying wine, they wouldn’t offer up any additional tastes or pours.
The venue is very concrete and utilitarian. Your tasting is in the conference room of a warehouse, and if you didn’t know where you were driving to, you would have no idea as the location is a warehouse.
Toss — Up
As the tasting is in the warehouse, you need to make (and keep) your appointment. Therefore it is very intimate, but doesn’t allow any flexibility if you are running late or make a last minute change of plans.

I stayed a couple of nights at my brother’s place in Healdsburg several years ago, and he and his wife served a Ramey cabernet sauvignon, like maybe an ’09. I really liked it at the time, an was pleased to learn the tasting room was only a few blocks away, so next day we walked over and I picked up several ’06 cabs.
Just opened one the other night for a special occasion, and it was spectacular. Big and bold, made an ’07 Layer Cake which we opened afterwards taste feeble in comparison. Luckily I still have a couple more bottles. Girlfriend and I talked about how delicious that wine was for several days afterwards! The BEST.

Ramey presents a fantastic selection of 7 premium wines (4 white and 3 red) for their tasting, which is presented in a meeting room at a conference table. Patrice was our verrrry friendly tasting expert and she guided us through Ramey’s wine-​excellence.
The Platt Vineyard Sonoma Coast Chardonnay which got a 94+ by Robert Parker and the ’08 Cabernet which got a 95 (also by Robert Parker) are both truly ahhhhhhmazing!
Soooooo, schedule a Ramey Tasting, eat a reeeely good breakfast and set your Garmin. You and your Visa card will be happy campers :)

the tasting room is just a simple conference room, and the wine making area looks like a shipping facility. but the staff was friendly, and the wines are quite tastey. the reds we tried were bold and complicated. the whites were dry and earthy. i liked the cabernet the best. the lady we had an appointment with had lots of great suggestions for lunch (since we were pretty hungry after trying all that wine!). she even had menus printed out, which was very thoughtful.