Last Grapes Ever Off Remarkable Vineyard
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2014 Ramey Wine Cellars Pinot Noir Platt Vineyards Sonoma Coast 750 ml
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David Ramey’s Final Vintage of Platt Vineyard Pinot
David Ramey’s Final Vintage of Platt Vineyard Pinot
When you’re talking about California’s kingpins of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Ramey Cellars is going to be mentioned, early and often. That’s because David Ramey learned from the best of the best: After working in France at legendary Pétrus, Ramey helped establish four pillars of Napa and Sonoma — Dominus Estate, Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, and more recently, Rudd Estate. With his wife Carla, he poured all that expertise into his own Ramey Cellars, and one his greatest bottlings has been long-familiar to those who know the thrill of opening a Ramey wine from the cellar: One of Ramey’s go-to sources for Pinot Noir excellence has been Sonoma’s extreme cool-climate Platt Vineyard. Antonio Galloni wrote of this “bold, powerful and exuberant” wine: “In 2014 the Platt is gorgeous. Sadly, this is David Ramey's last vintage of the Platt.” Our many Wine Access clients who scan for Ramey’s name will want to stock up on this last chance to savor Ramey’s Platt Pinot Noir, and we’ve got it at 23% off the release price.
Just five miles from the Pacific off Bodega Highway, midway between Bodega Bay and Sebastopol, Platt Vineyard sits at 800 feet in elevation on a south-facing slope overlooking the Estero Americano estuary. Here, cooling breezes and fog funnel inland along the Petaluma Wind Gap, helping to keep temperatures relatively cool, which Ramey says makes for “uncommon density and structure” and naturally bright acidity in the Pinot grapes from this site. The vines are planted on prized Goldridge soils — uplifted from an ancient ocean floor — with some of the tightest spacing on the coast. This combination results in the production of consistent low yields and tiny berries, packed with concentration. Combined with the vibrant acid-cut, the Pinot Noirs that Ramey produces age exceptionally well, and only grow more elegant with time in the cellar.
The 2014 growing season ushered in near-perfect conditions for growing Pinot Noir. A mild winter and spring caused an early bud break followed by consistent temperatures throughout the summer, promoting even ripening. This “early, long and modestly warm season in Sonoma County,” Wine Spectator wrote, “allowed most winemakers the luxury of picking at the optimum time.” So it was with Ramey at Platt. Ample hang time yielded intense berries that delivered a superbly rich texture to the vintage’s finished Pinots, and in Ramey’s hand, this Platt Pinot shows all of the elegance of Burgundy and the vibrant acid-cut courtesy of Sonoma’s cooler climate.