Ramey Woolsey Road Vineyard Chardonnay 2019

This fine Chardonnay from Dave Ramey is from the Platt Vineyard which was planted in 2003. Until the 2009 vintage, the young-vine production was going into the Ramey Sonoma Coast Chardonnay but now Ramey makes it as a vineyard designate (starting with the 2009 vintage). Located five miles from the Pacific off Bodega Highway, the vineyard sits at 800' on a south-facing slope overlooking the Estero Americano (which funnels cooling marine weather to the Sacramento delta via the Petaluma Gap). This wine has crisp acidity and minerality from a true West Sonoma Coast cool climate site. Located in gently rolling terrain north of Carneros Highway, the soils are quite heavy clay. Vine selection is Old Wente and Long Vineyards, and the vines range from five to twenty-two years old. The Wente is marked by very small grape clusters, with small berries, and the so-called "hen-and-chick"--large and small berries within the same cluster. The Wente produces a classic, Burgundian-style wine, without strong tropical fruit tones of some California Chardonnays, along with some minerality and spice. The Long Vineyards selection adds a floral note, and the Hyde Vineyard wines often seem charming and feminine.