Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Blend: 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, 2% Cab Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This wine vastly overdelivers on its price point—a rarity in its category and peers. Made from grapes throughout the appellation, the majority from St. Helena, it blends in small amounts of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cab Franc. Turned earth, pungent tobacco leaf and currant define its savory, substantially structured elegance that offers room to age.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon also contains 8% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec and 2% Cabernet Franc and was aged 28 months in 48% new French oak. Deep ruby in color, it has very pure, layered aromas of raspberry and cherry preserves with notes of cardamom, aniseed and rose petals. The full-bodied palate is intensely layered and perfumed, seamless and long. It's an elegant rendition of an appellation-wide Cabernet Sauvignon from what can be a rich, powerful vintage in Napa.
-
Wine Spectator
This is a lively and engaging Cab, brimming with damson plum, red currant and bitter cherry fruit, liberally laced with sassafras, red tea and juniper accents. Fresh and open-knit through the finish.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
I was able to taste two Cabernets from Ramey. Starting with the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, which comes from Napa, it offers textbook, slightly old-school Cabernet notes of blackcurrants, black cherries, sweet tobacco, cedar, and chocolate. It doesn't pull any punches on the palate and is ripe, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully textured, with a dense mid-palate, yet it brings good freshness, notable structure, and a great finish. It will keep for 15 years or more.
Other Vintages
2018-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Enthusiast -
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong -
Jeb
Dunnuck
-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
-
Wine
Spectator -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Enthusiast
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
-
Robert
Parker
-
Robert
Parker
David Ramey is among a distinguished group of pioneering American vintners who revolutionized modern-day winemaking and elevated California to the forefront of the international wine community. Hailed as “Professor Chardonnay” by Wine Spectator, David’s groundbreaking work with indigenous yeasts, sur lies aging and malolactic and barrel fermentation yielded a new California Chardonnay style that was richer, more lush and silky smooth. Ramey Wine Cellars crafts exceptional expressions of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir from top vineyards in Sonoma and Napa.
After earning a graduate degree at UC Davis, with his thesis on how aromas evolve in wine, David Ramey pursued a hands-on education in Old World winemaking traditions. He worked at Chateau Pétrus and would later apply these time-honored methods to California’s premier vineyards. In California, David led winemaking for Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus Estate and Rudd Estate. In 1996, David and his wife Carla founded Ramey Wine Cellars with the vision of crafting classically styled, elegant and balanced wines that age beautifully.
Still exclusively owned by the Rameys, the next generation, Claire and Alan Ramey, work at the winery as well. They have been training under their father and working in various roles across the winery, from vineyards to production to winemaking and more. Over the years, a team of highly talented colleagues have joined the winery where they continually push to make the best wines possible. Ramey Wine Cellars crafts exceptional expressions of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir from top vineyards in Sonoma and Napa. Tastings are offered by appointment in Healdsburg, California.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.