Executive Editor Jim Gordon asks Claire Ramey of Sonoma-based Ramey Wine Cellars for a preview of the 2023 chardonnays now aging in barrels. It was a long, relatively cool growing season untouched by wildfire smoke and severe heat events.
“2023 was a great vintage in many ways,” Ramey said. “We were relieved first and foremost to get a normal bloom period. Because 2021 and 2022 had such challenging blooms that partly contributed to the short years (in quantity) that we had…. We had perfect conditions for crop and even ripening all the way through to the end.”