2021 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
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Tasting notes
Fruit sourced 55% from Westside Farms, 18% Kilcullen, 13% Dutton Sebastopol, 10% Martinelli Charles Ranch and 4% Frank Johnson. Sites planted between 1975 and 2006 – mostly to UC Davis clone 4, known for its prominent acidity and large clusters, with lesser percentages of Wente and aromatic clones like Rued. Whole-cluster pressed. Juice is browned out (deliberately oxidised to help with mouthfeel and mitigate any potential issues with premox) in the press pan and tank and then lightly sulphured prior to being put into barrel. Ambient-yeast fermentation and malolactic conversion. Lees-stirring occurs every two weeks while the wine is going through malolactic conversion. Aged 12 months in 10% new French oak barrels. Medium lemon in colour. Lemon blossom, lemon curd, vanilla blossom, lemon zest and fresh cream on the nose. Mouth-watering acidity but gentler than the 2020 with creamier mouthfeel; a bit leesy, with an extended, refreshing finish. Tight. This needs a few years. (SCJ)
Critic scores
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Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 2021 Chardonnay Russian River Valley takes on a little more ripe fruit and roundness, with ripe yellow apple, chamomile, and melon rind. It has a more rounded mouthfeel and takes on fuller body, with a supple, silky smooth texture to its notes of ripe pear, fresh earth, and a touch of almond. Dink it over the next 5-6 years. Founded in 1996 by David and Carla Ramey, the Rameys are continuing to produce benchmark wines, while raising the bar for what Sonoma can achieve. In 2022, the Healdsburg-based winery was officially handed over to their children, Claire and Alan, who now share responsibility as co-presidents. During my tasting with Dave, Claire, and Alan, they arranged several side-by-side comparisons with reference point wines from other wine regions. The highlight of these comparisons came when I tasted the 2020 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard alongside the Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey 2020 Saint-Aubin Premier Cru En Remilly Hommage A Marguerite (94 points), as well as the Domaine Michelot 2020 Meursault Premier Cru Perrieres (92 points). While the Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey was wonderfully impressive and textural, the Hyde had fantastic purity and length by comparison. The Domaine Michelot has the structure to have some longevity but felt a touch weedy, which masked its otherwise purer characteristics of green apple, citrus, and toast. It fell short compared to the Hyde and the Saint-Aubin, which was surprising considering the pedigree of this Premiere Cru site from Meursault. The overarching theme across the tasting was the longevity and balanced nature of the wines from Ramey, which comes as less and less of a shock to me as I get to know their wines more intimately. Though I personally have an affinity for the whites, these wines offer tremendous value with age-worthiness across the portfolio.