Micro-production Syrah from one of California’s most revered winemakers
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2016 Ramey Wine Cellars Syrah Cole Creek Russian River Valley 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
California’s Answer to Côte-Rôtie
David Ramey is one of the most revered winemakers in California. He made his name at Dominus, Rudd Estate, and Chalk Hill, and Wine Spectator says he’s got “The Master’s Touch.” So if you let him design a vineyard to his exacting standards in his choice of Russian River locales, you’ll get profound depth. You’ll get impeccable balance. You’ll get the 2016 Ramey Cole Creek Syrah.
Even though Ramey has a roster of renowned Cabernets and Chardonnays, Cole Creek is consistently one of his rarest, most coveted bottles, scarcely sold outside the winery. It’s grown on a four-acre site in the Russian River Valley where cool marine influence and low-yielding, gravelly, clay-loam soils help to yield wines with a savory complexity reminiscent of Hermitage and Cornas.
He crafted just 100 cases of this 2016, which shows the power and grace that could only come from “one of the top wineries in the United States,” as Antonio Galloni called them. An opaque-purple pour releases aromas of blackberries, blueberries, licorice, bacon, and smoke, while the palate delivers bold California fruit with Côte-Rôtie-esque finesse, supported by soft, rounded tannins.
Russian River’s 2016 vintage saw moderate summer temperatures, culminating in an unusually cool August that let the grapes ripen slowly to perfection, inspiring Galloni to call it “one of the most consistently brilliant and alluring young vintages I have ever tasted in Sonoma.”
Ramey co-fermented his Syrah with 7% Viognier for added complexity and aromatics—just like famed Northern Rhône estates—before aging it sur lie for 27 months, developing body and texture. A profound Syrah from a winemaking icon, it’s stellar right now but has the legs for another decade or more in the cellar.