2017 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Cooley Ranch Sonoma County 750 ml

It took the drama of Cooley Ranch to move David Ramey to make his first-ever Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County. That wine came in as Wine Enthusiast’s #1 California Cabernet of the vintage. 

Ramey’s 2017 Cooley Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County earned a stunning 98 points and Cellar Selection honors from Enthusiast, topping bottles that cost multiples more. Over at Vinous, Antonio Galloni called it “a total knockout.”

This is the work of a master, and it has enough poise and power to age another decade or more.

If you ask anyone in the know about who the top winemakers in America are, David Ramey’s name is bound to pop up. With over 40 vintages under his belt, Ramey is famous for two things: not suffering fools, and making wine of sterling quality and longevity.

He learned from the best of the best: After working in France at Château Pétrus, he helped establish four pillars of Napa and Sonoma wine: Dominus Estate, Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, and Rudd Estate. Starting in 1996 with his wife Carla, he poured all his expertise into his namesake winery, Ramey Cellars.

At 1,325 feet in elevation, the remote Cooley Ranch site sits high above the fogline. Predominantly dry-farmed and tilled sustainably, it’s a stellar vineyard that one high-profile vintner called “the most exciting and unique property” he’s ever seen. Ramey likens it to a mountain terroir in Napa Valley, saying “The diversity and wildness of the site seem to inform the wine’s complexity and powerful tannins.”

The master winemaker only made 270 cases of this impeccable Sonoma bottling. It’s the perfect special-occasion wine, and will thrive for years to come.