2016 Ramey Chardonnay Rochioli Vineyard
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One of my favorite releases from Ramey, the 2016 Chardonnay Rochioli Vineyard comes from a Grand Cru site in the Russian River and has incredibly classic notes of white flowers, tart citrus, and subtle orchard fruits. It’s one of those wines that’s both powerful and elegant, with medium to full body, a great mid-palate, integrated acidity, and just everything in the right places. It’s a beautiful, layered, age-worthy Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 10-15 years.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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The 2016 Chardonnay Rochioli Vineyard is powerful and dense in its first impression. It is also one of the more phenolic, structured Chardonnays in the range. There is a real sense of weight and textural resonance that runs through the fruit. Hints of lemon confit, dried flowers and dried pear meld into the creamy, layered finish.
This is the second vintage of a Rochioli vineyard-designate Chardonnay made by Ramey. Grapes were sourced from vines planted between 1989 and 2005 and were fermented in barrel with bâtonnage, then aged in 21% new French oak for 20 months. The nose of the 2016 Chardonnay Rochioli Vineyard opens with Meyer lemon, pulverized stone, lime peel and soft white flowers with touches of nuts and cream. Medium to full-bodied, it offers wonderful savory flavor layers of honeycomb and hazelnut with a gorgeous velvety texture and great length plus lots of mineral sparks coming through on the finish. 901 cases were produced, which will be released in June of 2019.