Ramey "Woolsey Road Vineyard" Chardonnay 2022
(Russian River Valley, California) - [JD 98] [DM 96] [WA 96] [WS 95] [JS 95]

About the Winery:
David Ramey is unquestionably one of the most renowned winemakers in California. He has made wines and consulted for some of the top names in Napa Valley and France, including Chateau Pétrus (the world's most expensive Bordeaux), Chalk Hill, Matanzas Creek, Dominus Estate, and Rudd. Together with his wife Carla, he founded his namesake winery in 1996. The second generation, Claire and Alan Ramey, began working at the winery in 2013 and have been cross-trained in all aspects of winery operations. In 2021, Claire and Alan became co-presidents of Ramey Wine Cellars. 

About this Wine:
This Chardonnay is exclusive to Ramey; you will not find Woolsey Road Vineyard anywhere else. Owned by the Martinelli family, the vineyard was planted specifically for us at their invitation. We were able to provide them with old Wente cuttings from Hyde Vineyard. Aromatically the wine is perfumed with apricots, lemon, golden apples, and honeysuckle. On the palate, the wine is nutty with hints of lemon zest, orange blossoms, and a touch of honeycomb.

100% Chardonnay

Fermentation: We press whole clusters for phenolic delicacy. Native yeast and full native malolactic fermentations take place in barrel, with sur lies bâtonnage.  

Aging: After 20 months in 20% new French oak barrels, the Chardonnay was traditionally fined for clarity and texture and bottled without filtration in June 2024. 

Ratings & Reviews

98 Points - Jeb Dunnuck: 
"The 2022 Chardonnay Woolsey Road Vineyard is a bright, youthful yellow/green-tinged color and offers a lot of transparency in its character in this vintage. It reveals pure notes of fresh peach, floral perfume, preserved citrus, well-detailed spices, and smoky stones. The palate is fresh and focused and has a lot of tension, and it’s long on the palate, with fantastic intensity and structure. This site produces tiny little berries, which lends a pleasing tannic-like structure, along with great acidity and depth. This wine is built for the long haul and will be worth stashing away for several years. Drink 2027-2040." - Audrey Frick (Jul 2025)

96 Points - Decanter Magazine: 
"Woolsey Road benefits from two pillars of the Chardonnay world: it originates from the Hyde family’s cuttings of Old Wente and is farmed by the third and fourth generations of the Martinelli family. This Chardonnay showcases a remarkable flavour intensity, with rich citrus fruit—lemon, lime, and grapefruit zest—woven with oyster shell minerality. Restrained yet brimming with tension, this wine has so much going on. A real depth of fruit and mineral integrity is evident, though it remains somewhat shy, biding its time. Make no mistake—this will blossom into a rich and excellent wine, fully deserving of its high praise. It is focused and laser-like in its precision, with remarkable restraint and tension. This vineyard is owned by the Martinelli family and was planted to Ramey’s specifications in 2007. According to Ramey, it lies directly south of the Martinelli Winery on Woolsey Road. The vines are spaced one metre by two metres on a northeast-facing slope. Planted on 420A rootstock, known for its low vigour, the vines are cane-pruned. The site’s Huichica clay loam over clay soil composition contributes to the wine’s mineral-driven precision. This cool-climate site was planted with Old Wente cuttings from Chardonnay vines Ramey originally planted at Platt Vineyard." – Jonathan Cristaldi (Jan 2025)

96 Points - Wine Advocate: 
"The 2022 Chardonnay Woolsey Road Vineyard comes from Wente selection vines planted in 2007 by the Martinelli family. The grapes were harvested before the Labor Day heat wave on August 17, and the wine was barrel-fermented. It underwent full malolactic conversion and was matured for 20 months in 20% new French oak barrels. It has slowly unfolding scents of honey, orange blossom, crème brûlée and matchstick. The palate is taut and energetic, with focused acidity and slowly opening stone fruit flavors. As it warms in the glass, it reveals exuberant tropical and honey tones, and it has a tremendously long finish driven by its luxurious, mouth-coating texture. It will benefit from several years in the cellar." – Erin Brooks (Aug 2025)

95 Points - Wine Spectator: 
"Leaps out of the glass with vibrancy, offering notes of hard lemon candy, ginger tea, grilled peach and ripe, salted melon. Lemon zest, lemon verbena and chamomile aromatics add to the complexity, while a fabulous thread of acidity keeps the flavors in focus and the finish fresh and long. Drink now through 2037. 479 cases made." – MW (Jul 2025)

95 Points - James Suckling:
"A broad, generous yet firmly textured white that has an almost chewy texture and vibrant, lively, crisp citrus and green apple flavors. So distinctive, fresh and structured. From a 3-acre plot of of older vines on a Martinelli family property. An ideal wine to cellar for a few years. Drinkable now, but best from 2030." (Apr 2025)