2014 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard includes 12% Petit Verdot and is bright with fresh black cherry as well as notes of cedar, porcini, and fresh earth. Full-bodied, with a velvety texture, a hint of mocha, and a supple texture, I like where this now and it should continue to hold up nicely over the next 10 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.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard is a classic wine from the Eastern Hills of Oakville. Pliant, supple and radiant in the glass, the 2014 offers superb depth and textural richness. The dark cherry, plum, espresso, licorice and floral notes all blossom in an effortless, sumptuous Cabernet endowed with personality and class. The 2014 will be easy to drink with minimal cellaring. Today, it is fabulous.

88% Cabernet Sauvignon,12% Petit Verdot. Genuinely, authentically perfumed. Some real delicacy. What a charmer! Nothing forced. Nothing sweet. Just defiantly made in ballerina mode. Well done for ignoring the orthodox. Clean health juice. (JR)