2008 Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)

"Syrah's image to American consumers, I hate to say, was seriously damaged by the Australians," David Ramey told me. "First, they didn't call it syrah. Then, they made it sweet, and after that they made it cheap. Now, it's an incredible struggle to get people to buy these wines for what they're worth so more and more people, growers and producers, are just giving up on the grape." Ramey himself has made his last Shanel Vineyard syrah (the 2006) and is now producing a SonomaCoast syrah that's intended for earlier drinking and priced at about one-third less than his Rodgers Creek bottling. He drew a comparison between 2007 in Napa and 1982 in Bordeaux, saying that although the wines have big immediate appeal he thinks they'll have a smooth aging trajectory and never really close up. As for 2008, he says that "it isn't an easygoing vintage. The wines are looking very direct and will need some time to gain breadth."