2010 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard

Two thousand twelve marks the debut of David Ramey's first pinot noir, which came about because, as Ramey put it, "the fruit was incredible and everybody thought that I did a pinot anyway, so why not?" We discussed vintage generalizations and he mused on the fact that in the Old World such variable years are celebrated, while in California people tend to use a broader brush. "Just because something isn't great doesn't mean it's bad," he said, "but that's lost on a lot of people." The 2011 vintage is a prime example, he pointed out. "Are there a lot of not-so-good or just plain bad wines? Sure. Is everything bad? No way." Such vintages are the ones where experience, hard work, sacrifice and great vineyards really pay off ("you may only be able to make a little wine but make it good"), he commented, "and that's what people should focus on."

David Ramey doesn't get anywhere near the attention he deserves. Today, it seems the focus is on extremes as the wine world is increasingly about a polarization of so-called 'very ripe' wines versus the more 'restrained' style. Ramey's wines are neither, but rather bring together the best of both schools of thought. The Chardonnays combine distinctly Californian expressions of site with Burgundian concepts of aging where the wines spend a full 18 months in barrel, something that is rarely seen in this country. The results speak for themselves. These are among the very best Chardonnays being made in California. The Syrahs and Cabernets present super-rich textures backed up by tons of structure. As for the reds, well, they are terrific. Not surprisingly, the 2010s have shut down a bit post-bottling. The 2011s, from a very difficult vintage in which Ramey lost a full 50% of his crop, are among the wines of that vintage. The 2012s show plenty of promise in the racy, sexy style of the year. Best of all, prices remain exceedingly fair by California standards.

Once again, I tasted an amazing range of wines with David Ramey. The Chardonnays capture a beautiful middle ground of ripe, California fruit but treated to a long, Burgundy-inspired elevage that relies in natural yeasts and no filtration, among other choices, to bring out the personality of each of the sites Ramey works with. To me, the Ramey Chardonnays have a Chassagne-like richness that is quite appealing, yet they remain laid back in style by California standards. The Cabernets run the gamut price-wise, but I find a lot to like across the entire range. The Syrahs are in some ways the outliers, because they are made by a winemaker with a very Cabernet-influenced palate. As good as Ramey's Syrahs are, it is impossible not to notice a house style that emphasizes an overt expression of fruit over what might be termed more varietal character, especially in the regular bottling. As for the reds, the 2011 Cabernets are quite strong for the year. In 2011, Ramey bottled a far greater percentage of his juice into the entry-level Claret than normal, and saved only the best lots for the Cabernets, a decision that has paid off handsomely. The 2010s are just as fabulous as they were last year. At the end of the day, though, that is a relatively small critique for a winemaker who excels in so many ways. In my mind, Ramey is one of the top wineries in the United States. Readers who aren't familiar with these wines owe to themselves the check them out.

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)

As David Ramey's winery continues to expand he has outgrown his downtown Healdsburg facility and recently set up another one, not far away and on the south side of town. Ramey mused about the market's (and wine critics') obsession with single-site bottlings, saying that it "detracts from and diminishes the fact that plenty of blended, appellation wines are made from incredibly high-quality fruit from the best sites in the region." The perceived exclusivity and assumed rarity of single-vineyard wines blind people to the virtues of the so-called little wines in the range, which Ramey believes is unfair. He told me that the longer he works with syrah, the more he realizes that it needs to be treated like pinot, not cabernet, which is how he used to look at the variety. "Cabernet is mostly about working with the tannins but syrah really needs a lighter hand to show its best."

David Ramey is one of the few California winemakers who thinks in terms of structure, not just flavor, something that sets him apart from many of his peers. All of the wines I tasted at Ramey's cellar just outside Healdsburg were terrific. I also sampled a number of older wines, all of which have held up very well. Best of all, most of the wines remain very fairly priced considering the quality of what is in the bottle. My visit ended with the 2001 Cabernet Jericho Canyon Road, which was stunning. At age 10 it remains an infant. I only wish I owned it. The next best thing is Ramey's new Annum bottling from 2009 forward, the vintage in which the main vineyard source switched to Shartsis, a parcel in Rutherford close to Dana Estates's Helms vineyard. The Pedregal, from a vineyard in Oakville is perhaps even better, but it also costs twice as much.