The other night I had the pleasure of meeting up with the Ramey team at 25 Lusk in San Francisco, and I learned a lot about how they make wine, as well as the style of the wines that they make. We had a nice private room upstairs, where Obama had dined a year or two ago, probably with some Bay Area fundraisers.
Somehow I wound up sitting exactly where he had dinner, which kinda gave me the warm fuzzies, "He sat right where that gentleman is sitting," said our server, nodding at me. "He had a couple of Ketel Ones on the rocks and it seemed like he was having a great time." I bet he did.
I was here for the wine, but I had a great time, too. The hilarious thing about 25 Lusk is that they were hosting this Game of Thrones-themed food and wine dinner thing, so the stereo system was blasting the TV score through the restaurant. Over, and over, and over. On repeat.
It was a little weird. On the positive side, we were not asked to drink the wine from pewter goblets, no one was decapitated, and the food was pretty good.
That said, I hope that A-16 doesn't start hosting Godfather-themed nights anytime soon. I appreciate the humor, but at some point it smacks of desperation...
Cameron Frey, David Ramey's first employee, as well as Alan Ramey, Claire Ramey-Pejovic, and associate Lydia Cummins were all there.
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| GM Cameron Frey and Founder, David Ramey |
We tasted a couple of Chardonnays, one from Rochioli Vineyard in Russian River Valley, another from Woolsey Road Vineyard, also in Russian River Valley. Ramey might be best known for Chardonnay.
One of the most interesting discussions we had was about the 'natural' wine movement and what that term means and how they make wines at Ramey (and for that matter, a lot of other important high end low-intervention wineries in California). At Ramey, almost all fermentations are native yeast fermentations, fining is usually done after several trials to decide the best course and fining agent (e.g. egg whites or bentonite clay for example)
2015 Ramey Chardonnay Rochioli Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA ($65)
The Rochioli was a bit more floral with honeysuckle, orange, butter, hazelnut, quince and fennel notes, all built around a flinty, "matchstick" taut quality that you often see in young white Burgundies. I think that last part has a lot to do with winemaking technique and not a lot to do with terroir, but the end result lends itself to longevity in Chardonnay. (92 Points)
2015 Ramey Chardonnay Woolsey Vineyard, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, CA ($65) Nutty and warm on the nose, with crisper lemon, apricot notes on the palate. It's a dynamic and wide-ranging wine with white tea-like bitterness on the finish that complements the fruity side. What's great about it is that there are so many disparate things going on at the same time, like a beautiful firework expanding in every direction. Delicious and extraordinarily complex. (95 Points)
I've tasted more Ramey Chardonnays than reds over the years, and I find them really intriguing. As much as they are generous, sunny California Chardonnays, when young, they also have a taut "struck-match," slightly reductive, flinty, sulfuric note that you get from some Burgundies, like the wines from Domaine Leflaive.
I don't know exactly how either of those wineries achieve that character, but it's notable. That taut, tightly-wound is uncommon in California Chardonnay. It makes for an interesting yin / yang balance. You can taste the complexity and potential, but everything seems to be tense and bound up really tight, and you're just waiting for it to unravel and be brilliant. I think it's very much a result of the way the Chardonnay is managed in terms of oxygen exposure, lees stirring and the vessels used for fermentation and maturation. Ramey Chardonnays really parallel certain Burgundy producers in this way, and you can taste the similarities.
I think this style or flavor profile this is a hard thing to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it, but I hope that the previous paragraph might help you recognize it when you do come across it, and that will usually be in the context of a fairly expensive, young Chardonnay, and you might have an 'aha' moment.
I was really impressed with the finesse of Ramey's red wines. There is absolutely a French influence that carries though the reds. The Russian River Pinot Noir isn't opaque and sweet. It's translucent and elegant, far lighter and finessed than today's average Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, which frankly is often too sweet and sappy.
Even the Napa Cabernet is savory, focused, minerally and filled out with just enough red, black currant and toast flavors to remind you that it's from California.
Ramey 2016 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California ($68) Ramey's respect for French paradigms is evident in this wine, and frankly in almost all of Ramey's wines, though the crew would readily conceed that they are working with California fruit and not trying to make French wines. The truth is that Ramey makes low-intervention wines that are very much influenced by France, traditional French techniques, and French aesthetics. This Pinot has a lovely, translucent cherry juice color, violet, blueberry, rhubarb pie and white pepper notes. (93 Points)
Ramey 2014 Rogers Creek Vineyard Syrah ($65) True to the French Rhone inspirations, it shows grilled meat, pepper, salt and savory notes in the nose, has a silky texture, a fruity, spicy finish. It's from the cool wind tunnel of the Petaluma Gap AVA of Sonoma, a particularly challenging area for Syrah that can pay great dividends. 400 cased produced. (93 Points)
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Ramey 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley ($62) Wow, this is terrific. It has a mix of black and red currant fruit with a deep-running saline, minerally notes and a good bit of toasty oak, but it isn't syrupy or over-ripe. It avoids a lot of the pitfalls of Napa Cabernet and presents itself as a an elegant example of achieving balance in an environment that invites excess. (94 Points)
- Tim Teichgraeber
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