2006 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard

David Ramey calls 2007 "a seamless, unforced vintage where we were able to pick at will rather than being rushed by heat spikes or rainstorms." He went on: "Everybody should have been able to get the type of fruit that they were looking for." This was especially welcome with his chardonnay, he added, "because I want green grapes, not golden ones." Ramey noted that the 2007 reds "are very tannic, analytically, but the wines don't come across that way," adding that he thinks they will reward patience but without ever going through too much of a cranky phase. Ramey showed me a mini-vertical of Hyde chardonnay to emphasize that wine's ability to improve with age. The 2002 offered a compelling blend of honeyed, truffley richness and citrus bite, while the 2001 showed deep, smoky butterscotch and singed orange character. The 2000 was intensely spicy and mineral-driven and the 1999 was fully mature, with deep, buttery pear and melon flavors and a downright nervy spiciness.

Two thousand five will be the last vintage for David Ramey's Jericho Canyon cabernet sauvignon, as the owners have decided to build a winery of their own and keep all of their fruit. (Ramey had worked with this vineyard since the 1998 vintage, when he was the winemaker for Rudd Estate.) This bottling will be replaced by an as-yet-unnamed proprietary cabernet starting with the 2006 vintage. Ramey does a twice-daily pumpover of his red wines for "maximum color and flavor extraction," and does a total cuvaison of about 21 days, but handles his white wines more gently-he calls it "Champagne-style"-for greater finesse. He also believes that gentle handling allows his chardonnays to develop greater complexity and not simply be fruit bombs. To emphasize his point about the value of holding his chardonnays, Ramey opened a head-spinning 2002 Hyde that offered luscious, smoky citrus and melon flavors and still-youthful tang and grip.