2015 Ramey, Westside Farms Vineyard Chardonnay, Russian River Valley,California, USA
Critics reviews
The 2015 Chardonnay Westside Farms Vineyard stands out in this range for its layers of flavor and nuance. Lemon peel, white flowers, mint and chamomile all develop in the glass. In this tasting, the Westside Farms is translucent, expressive and all class. I very much like the elegance and finesse here.
It's hard to know where to start with these wines from David Ramey, as the lineup is full of highlights. Among the Chardonnays, the Rochioli Vineyard, a new vineyard designate, is terrific. The Woolsey Road Chardonnay is also quite distinctive. Ramey gives his single-vineyard Chardonnays 19 months on the lees, a standard Burgundian aging regime that is far less common in California.
Drink 2018 - 2025
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2018)
The 2015 Chardonnay Westside Farms Vineyard opens with quite a chalky nose over a core of grapefruit, lime blossoms and apricots with touches of honeycomb, cassia and toasted almonds. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers both opulence and restraint with alluring honeyed stone fruit contrasted by great tension and minerality, finishing long and layered.
Drink 2018 - 2024
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (June 2018)
Quite a hot year. Light nose and a sweeter start than most. Sinewy structure without the intensity of the 2016. Correct and fresh but just a little wan.
Drink 2018 - 2026
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (September 2022)
This was a fine year for Chardonnay, an early vintage with small berries that gave concentrated wines. Yet this is quite forward, with an opulent nose that's neither heavy-handed nor charred, and a plump, rounded palate that seems ready, though its nutty chewy texture suggests it has good extract. Solid and balanced, it nonetheless appears to have less acidity and flair than some other vintages. Long, creamy finish.
Drink 2022 - 2026
Stephen Brook, Decanter.com (September 2022)
From the Russian River Valley in Sonoma, the 2015 Chardonnay Westside Farms Vineyard is a tiny production cuvée (234 cases) and offers beautiful notes of orchard fruits, spice, and white flowers. It’s classic Russian River with its ripe, powerful, sexy profile, yet like all of Ramey’s wines, has beautiful purity. It will keep for a decade or more.
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (June 2018)
About this WINE
Ramey Wine Cellars
David Ramey, renowned for his work at Dominus, founded Ramey Wine Cellars with his wife Carla in 1996. Inspired by European styles and his experience at Petrus, David applied old-world techniques to Napa and Sonoma fruit, pioneering a unique approach in California winemaking.
Starting with two Chardonnay from Hyde and Hudson vineyards, David emphasised terroir by vinifying them identically, letting the fruit express the vineyard’s character. Today, Ramey focuses on Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, with grapes sourced from top vineyards in Napa and Sonoma, and has expanded to include Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.
David advocates for better farming practices, managing leased vineyards organically and collaborating with growers to promote sustainability. In the winery, his Burgundian approach includes gentle pressing, barrel fermentation, ageing on fine lees, and malolactic fermentation. He avoids making wines solely for critics, instead aiming for balanced, expressive wines.
Russian River Valley
This low-lying valley Sonoma County in and its 10,000 acres of vineyards was virtually unknown before 1983, when it was granted official appellation status (Russian River Valley AVA).
It has since established a formidable reputation as a prime spot for challenging varieties like Pinot Noir (29% of the acreage in 2007), which thrives in this cool-climate region. Chardonnay (42% of the acreage in 2007) has also blossomed here, showing a signature lean and restrained profile.
The Russian River Valley climate is influenced by cooling fogs, drawn inland from the Pacific. This natural air-conditioning allows the grapes to develop full flavor maturity over an extended growing season, while retaining their life-giving natural acidity.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
This was a fine year for Chardonnay, an early vintage with small berries that gave concentrated wines. Yet this is quite forward, with an opulent nose that's neither heavy-handed nor charred, and a plump, rounded palate that seems ready, though its nutty chewy texture suggests it has good extract. Solid and balanced, it nonetheless appears to have less acidity and flair than some other vintages. Long, creamy finish.
Drink 2022 - 2026
Stephen Brook, Decanter.com (September 2022)
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