The ‘05 Ramey Claret is a study in Voluptuous winemaking. It’s rich, velvety texture is marked by blackberry, cherry, tobacco and cassis – with a beautiful nose of cherry, clove, rose-water, rubber and cracked black pepper. I love to pile a bottle or tow of the Claret into a decanter when I’m entertaining. It’s a veritable crowd-converter. Everybody suddenly becomes a wine lover. For maximal pleasure, drink the ‘05 claret now and over the next 4 or 5 years.

David Ramey is anointed royalty in the wine world. They guy has left his mark on a passel of great wineries including: Chalk Hill, Rudd, and Dominus (yes – he is the winemaker at that DOMINUS). Back in the day, before he became a hero to aspiring winemakers around the world, Dave had a decidedly academic approach to the vino. In 1979, he wrote his PhD thesis at UC Davis. The title: Volatile Ester Hydrolysis. It’s a real page-turner. In a nutshell, it’s a scientific breakdown of how flavors develop and evolve in wine. After figuring that out, Dave did a stint at the legendary Chateau Pétrus in Bordeaux. That’s where he learned to put the romance back in the equation. Ever since, his wines have been produced traditionally, with an eye to terroir over technology. In a country where wine making is dominated by industrial advanced designed to mitigate risk, David Ramey is a big risk taker. He harvests his grapes as late as possible, risking a change in the weather, and his use of traditional, some might say outmoded, wine making techniques would scare most young winemakers. But, for Ramey, the gamble pays off.

Here’s what the winery has to say about the 2005 Napa Valley Claret:

This vintage is composed of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec, and 7% Syrah. (You may know that before France started their AOC (appellation) system in the 1930’s it was common, during the 1800’s, to import Syrah from Hermitage to blend with the wines of Bordeaux. These hermitage’ wines often fetched higher prices in the English market than those which had not been “improved.”) This soft, easy-drinking wine is a good introduction to the vintage, and while it will improve over the course of two to five years, it is not a wine intended for long-term aging. The soft, plush nature of this Claret stems in part from the mild vintage, with no real hot spells. More than a third of it derives from the Jericho Canyon Vineyard, along with wines from the Somerston, Larkmead, and Snowden Vineyards, and 7% Merlot from the Hyde Vineyard.

Ramey Wine Cellars Claret, Napa Valley, 2005
$33.50