2015 Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley)

It's hard to know where to start with these wines from David Ramey, as the lineup is full of highlights. Among the Chardonnays, the Rochioli Vineyard, a new vineyard designate, is terrific. The Woolsey Road Chardonnay is also quite distinctive. Ramey gives his single-vineyard Chardonnays 19 months on the lees, a standard Burgundian aging regime that is far less common in California. The 2014 Cabernets have also turned out beautifully. Ramey's Cabernets are powerful wines that offer quite a bit of richness, but without being excessive. I have included notes on a few 2007s to give readers an idea of how the wines age.

As always, my tasting with David Ramey covered a wide range of wines from both Sonoma and Napa counties. The 2014 Chardonnays are a bit more reticent than they usually are at this stage. I am not sure if the wines are going through a closed phase, or if the decision to pick a bit earlier than in the past has resulted in Chardonnays that are a bit shy in the early going. Regardless, in this tasting, the 2014 Chardonnays are a bit muted. The Cabernet and Cabernet-based wines are also quite strong, especially in 2014 a Napa Valley vintage I think will surprise a lot of people down the road. Most of the Syrahs I tasted had not been bottled, while the nascent Pinot program is a work in progress. In my view, those wines will never be as interesting as they could be with the existing fruit sources. Lastly, there will be no more wines from Platt, as Ramey, like all of his colleagues who were in that vineyard, have moved on.