With its beginnings in 2011, Ram’s Gate is perched on a hillside where the San Francisco Bay meets the edges of Napa and Sonoma counties. It is a beautiful spot to taste wine. Ram’s Gate sources from some incredible sites including ‘Hyde’ and ‘Gap’s Crown’ Vineyards.
Winemaker Joe Nielsen spent ten years at Donelan Family Wines in Santa Rosa before becoming Director of Winemaking at Ram’s Gate in 2018. He loves making wines from his special estate vineyard that is very windy and produces very small, concentrated berries. The new wines come from the late, 2023 vintage, which produced some world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Don’t miss the new 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Estate’ Chardonnay (OB, 95) which is dense and flavorful stuff that has a long way to go in the cellar. Learn more about this great estate at https://ramsgatewinery.com Here are the great new wines by Ram’s Gate.
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Carneros’ Pinot Blanc- The outstanding 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Carneros’ Pinot Blanc comes from their estate vineyard and shows rich melon and lychee notes on the nose alongside shades of walnut. The palate is plush and rich with an outstanding sense of texture and verve. Delicious now, watch this evolve over the next six years. Drink 2025-2031- 93
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Carneros’ Sauvignon Blanc- The 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Carneros’ Sauvignon Blanc also comes from young vines at their estate vineyard. The wine utilizes two clonal selections including Musque. The wine was barrel fermented (10% new), showing off nutmeg dusted shortbread and peach notes alongside musty undertones. The palate is fresh and lithe with a polished mouthfeel and a great sense of richness with melon and tropical fruits. Drink 2025-2031- 93
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Sonoma Coast’ Chardonnay- The 2023 ‘Sonoma Coast’ comes from several sites across this AVA. Reductive notes and sea salt dusted melon mark the nose alongside ripe pineapple and suggestions of freshly cut limes. The palate is fresh and viscous with a terrific mouthfeel and loads of salty minerals. Drink 2025-2033- 92
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Cellar Note’ Chardonnay- The 2023 ‘Cellar Note’ is a cuvee that combines a range of barrels. White peach and star jasmine combine with shades of mango on the nose. The palate is fresh and viscous with great length. Enjoy now and over the next six plus years. Drink 2025-2032- 92
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Bucher Vineyard’ Chardonnay- Coming from the Russian River Valley, the 2023 ‘Butcher Vineyard’ Chardonnay offers lemongrass and shades of honeysuckle on the nose with juicy melon fruits. The palate is plush and round with a great sense of texture. Drink 2025-2033- 94
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘El Diablo Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘El Diablo Vineyard’ Chardonnay is made from both Montrachet and Robert Young clonal selections. This location tends to be easy ripening. Golden in color, this is round, generous and broad-shouldered with a great sense of body and underlying fitness. Dense melon and citrus fruits combine with suggestions of persimmon on the palate. Drink 2025-2035- 95
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Hyde Vineyard’ Chardonnay- The 2023 ‘Hyde Vineyard’ is one of the famed sites in the Carneros region. Stored in mainly neutral French oak, this bottling is driven by clone 114 and also has Robert Young clone Chardonnay. Golden in the glass, this opens with aromatics of Japanese pear and shades of baking spices alongside caramel. The palate is viscous and dense with great minerality, weight and length. Drink 2025-2033- 94
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Estate’ Chardonnay- An amazing new bottling, the 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Estate’ Chardonnay comes from this Carneros location. Ripe mango and pineapple combine with baking spice laced pastry crust on the nose. The palate is refined and dense with loads of salty minerals alongside dense melon fruits. Weighty and intense, this is incredible stuff to enjoy in its youth — and will live on for at least another decade. Drink 2025-2035- 95
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Cellar Note’ Pinot Noir- The 2023 ‘Cellar Note’ comes from a range of locations across Sonoma. Right away this opens with cardamom and cloves alongside cran-cherry and damp earthy accents. The palate is fresh and medium-bodied with good finesse. Drink 2025-2032- 92
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Sonoma Coast’ Pinot Noir- The 2023 ‘Sonoma Coast’ Pinot Noir comes from several locations in this AVA. The wine had a small amount of whole cluster fermentation. This opens with ripe raspberry and red cherry notes alongside salted orange. The palate is round and mineral-laden with good finesse. Enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2025-2032- 92
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘El Diablo Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The 2023 ‘El Diablo’ was sourced from two separate clonal selections in the ‘El Diablo Vineyard.’ The nose offers downright killer red florals alongside wild mushroom, damp earth and tangerine zest. The palate is fresh and dense with a great core of red and dark fruits with great earthy tones and refined tannins. Drink 2025-2035- 94
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Bush Crispo Vineyard’ PInot Noir- The ‘Rush Crispo Vineyard’ is a small, 4 acre vineyard entirely sourced from Ram’s Gate, located on River Road, not far from Martinelli Vineyard. This is Pommard and 115 clonal selection Pinot Noir. The palate is smooth and vicious with cooking spices, damp earth and shades of black cherry compote. Drink 2025-2035- 94
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Gunsalus Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The ‘Gunsalus Vineyard’ is a site located in the Russian River Valley that neighbors a Dutton Vineyard, west of the town of Grayton.
. This opens with red florals on the nose alongside satsuma orange zest, white pepper and hints of loamy soils. The palate is plush and rich with a smooth mouthfeel and good sense of tension. Enjoy now and over the next eight years. Drink 2025-2033- 93
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Barbed Oak Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The 2023 ‘Barbed Oak Vineyard’ comes from this location in the Bennett Valley that is set on gravel soils with steep slopes. The nose offers cloves and white pepper alongside shades of red currants. The palate has hints of cola, with great flavor density and underlying tension, loaded with salty minerals. Drink 2025-2035- 94
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Gap’s Crown Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The beautiful 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Gap’s Crown Vineyard’ Pinot Noir comes from this famed location that neighbors the Pacific Ocean. This shows beautiful red rose petals on the nose with tangerine peel, damp salty soils and shades of red raspberry preserves. The palate is rich and dense with amazing tension and refined tannins. Mainly whole cluster fermented. Drink 2025-2035- 95
2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir- An amazing wine in 2023, the Ram’s Gate ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir comes from this windy and cooler site in the Carneros AVA. There are new plantings of Pinot Noir that are blended into the estate wine. Cinnamon and cloves mingle well with loamy soils and shades of guava puree on the nose. The palate is dense and rich with a terrific melange of red and dar fruits. Loaded with tension and salty nuance, enjoy now and over the next ten plus years. From a certified organic vineyard. Drink 2025-2037- 95
2022 Ram’s Gate ‘Hyde Vineyard’ Syrah- Sourced from this famed Carneros site, the 2023 ‘Hyde Vineyard’ Syrah. This is inky in the glass, delivering aromatics of beef drippings, orange peel and iodine alongside blueberry compote. The palate is dense and delicious with heady dark and blue fruits alongside tar, menthol and shades of green peppercorns. Nearly all whole cluster fermented. Drink 2025-2035- 95
2022 Ram’s Gate ‘Richard’s Vineyard’ Syrah- The 2023 Ram’s Gate ‘Richard’s Vineyard’ Syrah is brooding in the glass. This saw 31 months of barrel age before bottling. The wine was 100% whole cluster fermented. Creosote and black licorice notes combine with shades of white pepper dusted brisket. The palate is inky and dense with a sensational mouthfeel and great sense of flavor density. Only 175 cases made of this beauty. Drink 2025-2035- 95
2022 Ram’s Gate ‘Berler Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2022 Ram’s Gate ‘Berler Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon shows anise and tobacco leaf on the nose alongside shades of red bell pepper and blackberry compote. The palate is dense and delicious with creme de violette notes. Drink 2025-2035- 93