2010 Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast)

I tasted through the new Ramey collection with assistant winemaker Cameron Frey this year as David Ramey had to leave town suddenly to attend to family matters.David told me, "he's worked with me for ten years now and knows the drill better than anybody."Two thousand and ten was an especially successful vintage for the Napa Valley red wines at Ramey, and I was struck by their suave blend of opulence and structure from top to bottom.The 2010 Claret is perhaps the best rendition of that bottling I've had to date and the big guns are must-buys for serious California cab collectors, with the depth and energy to age effortlessly.Frey told me that a particularly interesting aspect of the 2010 reds is that "they were charming from the get-go, without the sullen character that you kind of expect right after bottling."Will they shut down soon?"Most likely," he said, "but who knows, because they're playing their fruit off their tannins so nicely that they may not."(JR)