Deep ruby, the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard, a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Petit Verdot, opens with baked plum, blackcurrant, fried sage, graphite, milk chocolate, leather and nori with a spicy core and licorice notions. It's medium-bodied and silky, the fruits segueing to tertiary layers, with firm, gently chalky tannins and good freshness, finishing very long and chocolaty. 601 cases were made.

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Pedregal Vineyard brings together all of the elements of the Ramey house style. A beautiful, well-articulate bouquet melds into layers of dark fruit. Clean, vibrant mineral notes give the wine its energy and vitality. This is a typical Oakville Cabernet loaded with class and pedigree. Exotic spiced notes wrap around the textured, multi-dimensional finish. This is a dazzling showing. The 2008 Pedregal is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Petit Verdot aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2028. David Ramey is one of the few California winemakers who thinks in terms of structure, not just flavor, something that sets him apart from many of his peers. All of the wines I tasted at Ramey’s cellar just outside Healdsburg were terrific. I also sampled a number of older wines, all of which have held up very well. Best of all, most of the wines remain very fairly priced considering the quality of what is in the bottle. My visit ended with the 2001 Cabernet Jericho Canyon Road, which was stunning. At age 10 it remains an infant. I only wish I owned it. The next best thing is Ramey’s new Annum bottling from 2009 forward, the vintage in which the main vineyard source switched to Shartsis, a parcel in Rutherford close to Dana Estates’s Helms vineyard. The Pedregal, from a vineyard in Oakville, is perhaps even better, but it also costs twice as much. The appellation Chardonnays spend 12 months in oak, ranging from 20-25% new, while the vineyard designates spent 18 months in oak, with a higher percentage of new barrels.Tel. (707) 433-0870, www.rameywine.com