Tropical fruit and vanilla on the nose with a luscious and creamy mouthfeel, having acidity and alcohol balanced throughout all of the phases of pleasure on the palate. This vividly clean Russian River sunlight in a bottle disappeared all to quickly with a caramelized vanilla bean and yeasty after-bouquet lingering in the sad empty glass, reminiscent of the “kiss of toasty oak” style of the early-mid 1990s Chardonnays of Rochioli, Talbott Sleepy Hollow, Newton Unfiltered, Far Niente, and Hanzell, when we could still afford them.
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Consumed several bottles of the past few weeks both at home and cousin pudges. Very reliable wine. Fine RRV chard. Very consistent bottle to bottle. Cousin pudge loves this stuff, his go to cali chard. Can smell the oak but blows right off. Procured for 28 to 32 bucks. Much better than same year Ramey Sonoma Coast.
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We did a wine night with a group of friends. We went with three waves.
First Wave: White as people arrived in the afternoon while it was still hot out. 2017 Christian Salmon Sancerre Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Served very cold; chilled in bucket of ice and water. Excellent nose with citrus and honeysuckle. Crisp drinker. More citrus and honey on palate. Everyone enjoyed it cold. Call it a 92-93. 2015 Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley. I might have had it a bit cold. I was shooting for 45-50F but I think is was closer to 40F. Not a ton of stone fruit on the nose or palate; was looking for peach or honey or wet stone. Main flavor that I detected was oak. Not buttery like some California Chardonnays but did not get the wet granite that some French Burgundys have either. Call it an 89. Clear favorite in the first wave was the Sancerre.
Second Wave: 2012 Denner Horizontal Tasting. Opened up the bottles 5 hours before tasting. Poured wine into glasses an hour before tasting and covered with an index card. 2012 Denner Syrah. Excellent nose. Hints of sandalwood and plums on the nose. Smooth texture with a long finish. A couple of people mentioned that they detected a slight “wet dirt in a barn” smell and taste but in a good way. Tasting notes mentioned sweet tobacco – maybe this was what we were detecting and describing. Excellent wine; call it a 93. 2012 Denner The Dirt Worshipper. Strong white pepper as soon as you removed the index card. One person said wet coals but we think they were influenced by the tasting notes. What does wet coals smell like? A couple of us thought we might have had kalamata olive on the palate but it could have been that we had eaten a couple of the olives. Hints of blackberry were the most prevalent. Also really good; call it a 93 or 94. 2012 Denner Mother of Exiles. Darker color than the previous two. Black current and pencil lead on the nose. Hints of plum and chocolate on the palate. Very smooth with a long finish. Not the strong grippy tannins that some of the Napa / Sonoma Cabs can have. This was smooth from start to finish. Call it a 93 or 94.
Third Wave. Finish up with a couple of reds to keep the night going. 2014 Chateau Tournefeuille La Terrasse. Opened it 5 hours before drinking. Bright red fruit. Juicy. Certainly did not go with the Denners. Probably a mistake on my part adding this as one of the ones towards the end of the night. No one thought much of it. Call it an 88 or 89. 2009 Chateau Poujeaux. Opened it 5 hours before drinking. Darker in color and much better than the Tournefeuille. Smooth but not as smooth or complex as the Denners. Call it a 90. We ran out so I opened up a 2012 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon Cougar Ridge. I poured it through a venturi into a decanter. Dark inky color. Most prominent feature was the strong grippy tannins. It served as an excellent example of what the Denners did NOT have. It was not as smooth. But, in fairness, it was the end of the night and did not have nearly the amount of time as the other wines.
The favorite wines of the night were the Denner Dirt Worshipper and Denner Mother of Exiles; they tied for most votes. The Salmon Sancerre was also a favorite and had the best QPR of the night.
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The 2015 Russian River Valley Chardonnay is sourced from a blend of vineyards across the appellation; 47% Dutton Ranches Vineyards (Perry, Mengle, Sebastopol & Mill Station), 24% Martinelli’s Laughlin Road Vineyard, 16% from Ramey's estate vineyard Westside Farms and 13% from two Rochioli Vineyards. The wine opens with gorgeous aromas of ripe apples, pear, crushed almond, white nectarine and spring florals all coming together beautifully. ON the palate this displays a wonderful textural richness, with lovely underlying acidity as this wine leaves you with a delicious burst of fruit on the fresh finish. All being said, this is a fantastic expression of an appellation Chardonnay, as well as a wonderful entry into David Ramey's impressive lineup in 2015.
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The appellation series. They had a series of large vintages. Only 7,000 cases made which is half Of 2014. A typical and classic vintage in 2015. The exploration is the tension between fruit and acidity. They want the mouthfeel but also want the clean finish. Some estate fruit. But right now a majority of Dutton ranch. But some martinelli and rocohioli. Darn is that super delicious. 15% new oak and in barrel for a year. 2018 will be the 45 harvest. At the height of his experience and powers. Whole cluster pressed. The idea being more texture. And little bit chewier but less solids in the bottle. Looking for elegance. Native yeast. Malonon thier one as well. Spontaneous malo. Battonage once a week. October - March. Battonage gets the longer tannin chains. Promoting mouthfeel.
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Great notes of ripe stone fruit and tropical fruit, light oak and vanilla notes with a little fresh brioche, med-round and med finish. Text book Russian River Chardonnay.
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10/28/2021 - cmiller Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious! Last bottle of this vintage.
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1/26/2021 - ebert Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent chardonnay with great balance, smooth finish and nice expression of fruit with very subtle oak tones.
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10/2/2020 - BGK810 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Beautiful wine perfectly balanced. Citrus, apple, a touch of oak.
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4/2/2020 - Josch48 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tropical fruit and vanilla on the nose with a luscious and creamy mouthfeel, having acidity and alcohol balanced throughout all of the phases of pleasure on the palate. This vividly clean Russian River sunlight in a bottle disappeared all to quickly with a caramelized vanilla bean and yeasty after-bouquet lingering in the sad empty glass, reminiscent of the “kiss of toasty oak” style of the early-mid 1990s Chardonnays of Rochioli, Talbott Sleepy Hollow, Newton Unfiltered, Far Niente, and Hanzell, when we could still afford them.
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9/24/2019 - buymoreredsdrinkmorewhites Likes this wine:
Consumed several bottles of the past few weeks both at home and cousin pudges. Very reliable wine. Fine RRV chard. Very consistent bottle to bottle. Cousin pudge loves this stuff, his go to cali chard. Can smell the oak but blows right off. Procured for 28 to 32 bucks. Much better than same year Ramey Sonoma Coast.
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7/28/2019 - Kcornett Likes this wine: 89 Points
Had with seafood. A little acidic and citrus at first. Was fantastic with the seafood and a little fat. Oak and butter non existent thankfully.
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6/15/2019 - MH Amateur wrote: 89 Points
We did a wine night with a group of friends. We went with three waves.
First Wave: White as people arrived in the afternoon while it was still hot out.
2017 Christian Salmon Sancerre Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Served very cold; chilled in bucket of ice and water. Excellent nose with citrus and honeysuckle. Crisp drinker. More citrus and honey on palate. Everyone enjoyed it cold. Call it a 92-93.
2015 Ramey Chardonnay Russian River Valley. I might have had it a bit cold. I was shooting for 45-50F but I think is was closer to 40F. Not a ton of stone fruit on the nose or palate; was looking for peach or honey or wet stone. Main flavor that I detected was oak. Not buttery like some California Chardonnays but did not get the wet granite that some French Burgundys have either. Call it an 89.
Clear favorite in the first wave was the Sancerre.
Second Wave: 2012 Denner Horizontal Tasting. Opened up the bottles 5 hours before tasting. Poured wine into glasses an hour before tasting and covered with an index card.
2012 Denner Syrah. Excellent nose. Hints of sandalwood and plums on the nose. Smooth texture with a long finish. A couple of people mentioned that they detected a slight “wet dirt in a barn” smell and taste but in a good way. Tasting notes mentioned sweet tobacco – maybe this was what we were detecting and describing. Excellent wine; call it a 93.
2012 Denner The Dirt Worshipper. Strong white pepper as soon as you removed the index card. One person said wet coals but we think they were influenced by the tasting notes. What does wet coals smell like? A couple of us thought we might have had kalamata olive on the palate but it could have been that we had eaten a couple of the olives. Hints of blackberry were the most prevalent. Also really good; call it a 93 or 94.
2012 Denner Mother of Exiles. Darker color than the previous two. Black current and pencil lead on the nose. Hints of plum and chocolate on the palate. Very smooth with a long finish. Not the strong grippy tannins that some of the Napa / Sonoma Cabs can have. This was smooth from start to finish. Call it a 93 or 94.
Third Wave. Finish up with a couple of reds to keep the night going.
2014 Chateau Tournefeuille La Terrasse. Opened it 5 hours before drinking. Bright red fruit. Juicy. Certainly did not go with the Denners. Probably a mistake on my part adding this as one of the ones towards the end of the night. No one thought much of it. Call it an 88 or 89.
2009 Chateau Poujeaux. Opened it 5 hours before drinking. Darker in color and much better than the Tournefeuille. Smooth but not as smooth or complex as the Denners. Call it a 90.
We ran out so I opened up a 2012 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon Cougar Ridge. I poured it through a venturi into a decanter. Dark inky color. Most prominent feature was the strong grippy tannins. It served as an excellent example of what the Denners did NOT have. It was not as smooth. But, in fairness, it was the end of the night and did not have nearly the amount of time as the other wines.
The favorite wines of the night were the Denner Dirt Worshipper and Denner Mother of Exiles; they tied for most votes. The Salmon Sancerre was also a favorite and had the best QPR of the night.
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5/27/2019 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 88 Points
Where California Chard meets White Burgundy. Elegance with fruit. Slight effervescence on the finish that will blow off with time in the glass.
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12/24/2018 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 92 Points
Never dissapoints
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11/4/2018 - rossi.wine wrote: 90 Points
Pure fruit, slightly creamy with good balance and weight. Quite vibrant, decent length. 89-91
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10/18/2018 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 91 Points
Similar to pre previous tasting note. Excellent all round cali chard. Not over butter, well balanced
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10/17/2018 - InternationalWineReport wrote: 91 Points
The 2015 Russian River Valley Chardonnay is sourced from a blend of vineyards across the appellation; 47% Dutton Ranches Vineyards (Perry, Mengle, Sebastopol & Mill Station), 24% Martinelli’s Laughlin Road Vineyard, 16% from Ramey's estate vineyard Westside Farms and 13% from two Rochioli Vineyards. The wine opens with gorgeous aromas of ripe apples, pear, crushed almond, white nectarine and spring florals all coming together beautifully. ON the palate this displays a wonderful textural richness, with lovely underlying acidity as this wine leaves you with a delicious burst of fruit on the fresh finish. All being said, this is a fantastic expression of an appellation Chardonnay, as well as a wonderful entry into David Ramey's impressive lineup in 2015.
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10/16/2018 - Brent25 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Clear pale lemon; medium nose of butter and lemon; pfn; high acidity; medium plus body; medium minus finish; dry; okay but nothing special
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9/27/2018 - ziavino wrote: 90 Points
Pear, apple, and a touch of tropical fruit commingle with light butter and vanilla notes. Modest acidity, but delicious.
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9/22/2018 - Burgundy Al wrote: 87 Points
Tasting, brief note. Floral with ripe orchard fruit and some marzipan notes. Good+ balance and restraint, good length.
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6/20/2018 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
The appellation series. They had a series of large vintages. Only 7,000 cases made which is half
Of 2014. A typical and classic vintage in 2015. The exploration is the tension between fruit and acidity. They want the mouthfeel but also want the clean finish. Some estate fruit. But right now a majority of Dutton ranch. But some martinelli and rocohioli. Darn is that super delicious. 15% new oak and in barrel for a year. 2018 will be the 45 harvest. At the height of his experience and powers. Whole cluster pressed. The idea being more texture. And little bit chewier but less solids in the bottle. Looking for elegance. Native yeast. Malonon thier one as well. Spontaneous malo. Battonage once a week. October - March. Battonage gets the longer tannin chains. Promoting mouthfeel.
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5/5/2018 - Alexander Smith Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great notes of ripe stone fruit and tropical fruit, light oak and vanilla notes with a little fresh brioche, med-round and med finish. Text book Russian River Chardonnay.
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