Wine Last Sold on: September 22, 2012
Ramspur Winery
Featured Wine:
2009 Ramspur Montage
| Varietal: | Red Blend |
| Region: | California: Napa Valley |
| Availability: | [REDACTED] |
| Avg. Price: | $50.00 |
| Wine Spies: | $36.00 |
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Mission Codename: The Golden Fleece
- Operative
- Agent Red
- Objective
- At the request of our faithful Operatives, return to Ramspur Winery and procure and ample allocation for our Elite Operative Saturday.
- Mission Status
- Accomplished!
- Winemaker
- Nancy Otton
Final Assessment
For today’s Elite Operative Saturday Selection, we selected a very elegant treat for you. Ramspur Wines one 2009 Montage is a red Meritage blend that delivers a big yet elegant drinking experience - at a really exceptional price.
Today’s wine is a perfect blending of California Bordeaux varietals, into a delicious, elegant melange of aromas and flavors. Complex on the nose, darkly enticing on the palate - and easy on the budget, today’s wine is the perfect Fall wine for your finest entertaining, or your introspective imbibing.
Tasting Profile
Deep maroon hues with a darker core and fine ruby edges. Tall, skinny, wine-stained tears take a unique zigzag path down the glass.
Sweet, stewed plum, braised black fig, smoky blueberry, black cherry and overripe blackberry are layered atop cured meats, cigar box, toasty dark chocolate
Initially grippy and plush, this elegant wine settles onto the palate, spreading a velvety dryness as it moves from the front of the palate, rearward.
Blackberry, dark plum, smoky blueberry, black cherry, sweetwood and sweet pipe tobacco take the lead. As the wine opens up, it reveals additional flavors of cassis, wild strawberry, dusty bramble, leather, brown spice and cracked pepper.
Vey long and dark, with black fruit that gradually gives way more earthy flavors. As these flavors dwindle, the palate is left with a plush, even dryness.
What the Winery Says
Much like our award winning 2008 vintage the bouquet of this intensely inviting wine is filled with dark ripe black fruits. Gobs of ripe plum, black cherry, blueberry and loganberry pervade the complex nose. Aromas of cigar box spice, vanilla and toasty oak, surround the fruit nicely. The flavors of this rich full-bodied wine explode with robust, ripe black fruit in the mouth and continue within the long finish. Well balanced, with fruit, oak, and firm, but smooth tannins, this wine will pair exceptionally well with prime rib, grilled rib steak, rich risotto, wild boar and other flavorful wild game. ~Should age well for 10 to 12 years.
Ramspur Winery uses a new glass closure called Vino-Seal. This closure, unlike natural cork, alleviates cork taint, and can be reused when storing your unfinished wine. As glass art collectors, we thought the Vino-Seal to be an extension of our fascination with glass art.
- Alcohol
- 14.1%
About the Winery
The Carneros Appellation in the Napa Valley is home to Ramspur Winery. Ramspur has turned out award-winning wines with incredible flavor, complexity, and character. The very high quality and distinct flavor of our wines is attributable to our dedication at Ramspur Winery. As a very small, boutique, winery we strive to create wines that are unique to our vineyards; Otton Vineyards.
In April 2004, after many years in Marin County, my family and I moved to Napa County. Our new property had a quarter of an acre of Merlot grapes being tended to by two men who became friends and mentors. I started working with them and learned about the vineyard and basic wine making. We really enjoyed growing our grapes and making our own wine.
My friends moved onto other ventures in 2006, but by then, I was so drawn into growing grapes and making wine that my husband, Terry, and I planted more grapes; a Pinot Noir.
Not really thinking we were going to sell our wine in 2007, Terry and I built a structure so we had a location to produce and house our wine and to store all the equipment and supplies needed for wine making. Just about this time I met Mark Swain, a Wine Maker Consultant. Mark taught me, and continues to teach me, many intricate things about wine making, and wine in general.
I thought it would be an interesting experiment to ask someone who was not a friend, to taste and judge my wine. In 2008, I mentioned this to the folks at Napa Fermentation they suggested I send my wines off to the Orange County Fair to be judged by a panel of professionals. I am proud to say I won a silver medal for both my 2006 blend and my 2006 Merlot under the “Home Wine Makers” category.
Permits and licenses were applied for and received just in the nick of time to be able to sell my 2008 harvest. After harvest I contacted my neighbor, LeRoy Young from Young Ridge Winery, and purchased some of his blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. I also purchased Merlot grapes from Herrick Grand III Vineyards. With Mark’s tutelage, we kept a barrel of our “Estate” Merlot and carefully combined some of my Merlots to the Cabernet blend. In both cases we have created fine wines in a limited amount.
With Carneros meaning Ram in Spanish, and living and growing our grapes on a breathtaking spur of land, our name was created, Ramspur.
