Ramey Wine Cellars

California

Cabernet Sauvignon, Pedregal Vineyard, Oakville

Oakville

$ USD

Release Price

Drink Window

14.5%

ABV

pH

TA

RS

Growing Conditions

This is our eight vintage from this small, outstanding vineyard on the lower slopes of the eastern Oakville hills. “Pedregal” means a rocky place in Spanish, and that is certainly a distinguishing feature of the site. During 2008 we agreed to a long-term lease of this vineyard which gives us complete control even through any change in ownership, so this is the fourth vintage we’ve directed farming ourselves.

The growing season was cool and wet through spring. Bud break was delayed by 1-2 weeks in most of our vineyards. The weather stayed cool through fruit set and into harvest. Toward the end of the growing season, the days remained cool but the nights were much warmer than normal, which accelerated ripening. Due to the warmer nights and two incoming rain storms, our last vineyards were harvested on October 20th. Overall, the cool weather resulted in slower ripening. We had phenolic maturity without sugar accumulation, so the 2011's are lower in alcohol. They are elegant expressions of a cool vintage.

Bottling

Lightly fined with egg whites, it was bottled without filtration in July 2013.

Winemaking

As with all of our wines, it went through native yeast and malolactic fermentations. This wine combines the harmony produced by traditional Bordelaise winemaking techniques with the volumptuousness of even a cool Napa vintage.

Aging

Aging the 2011 sur lies with monthly bâtonnage has coated the tannins and smoothly integrated the wood. We aged this vintage 19 months in completely new French barrels (Taransaud and Darnajou).

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Site: “Pedregal” means a rocky place in Spanish, and that is certainly a distinguishing feature of the site. This is a small, hillside vineyard on the lower slopes of eastern Oakville that is planted to 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot. In 2008, we agreed to a long-term lease of this vineyard giving us complete control even through change in ownership. Soil: Iron-rich red soil, 85% basalt rock Clonal Selection: The Cabernet Sauvignon is Clone 7. The Petit Verdot is Sterling selection. Planted: The Cabernet Sauvignon was planted on St. George and 110R rootstock with 4'x8' spacing in 1990. The Petit Verdot was planted on 110R rootstock with 4'x6' spacing in 1993.