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  • Weather

    10° C Light rain
  • Time

    10:36 AM
  • Wine average?

    96 Tb
  • Country Ranking?

    70
  • Region Ranking?

    19
  • Popularity ranking?

    55

History

Located in Burgundy, a winegrowing region where terroir and sense of place are typically more important than individual winemakers, Ramonet is in a class of its own.  In fact, Ramonet Montrachet, the estate’s flagship wine, is claimed by many to be unequalled.  What is perhaps even more impressive is the story of the Ramonet family and how they created this world-class winery.

 

Pierre Ramonet arrived in Burgundy in the late 1920s with his worldly possessions in a knapsack and started to earn money by buying and vinifying grapes.  Land value was very low during these difficult times, with the double effects of the depression and the American prohibition.  Through his hard work, Pierre started to accumulate vineyard plots surrounding the village of Chassagne-Montrachet with his first purchase within the great Ruchottes vineyard (also known as Grandes Ruchottes) in 1934.  It was with this parcel of land and this vintage that Père Ramonet made his name. 

 

Raymond Baudoin, the founding father of the renowned wine publication “Revue de Vin de France,” presented Pierre’s wine at a general tasting in Beaune and enthused like never before.  It coincided at the time of the repeal of the Prohibition in the United States and the visit of Frank Schoonmaker, who was passionate about Burgundy.  Frank became the first official American importer for the Domaine with an inaugural purchase of 200 cases.

 

The culminating point of Pierre’s work life was in 1978, when he was still very much a man of the soil.  He walked into a lawyer’s office in Beaune with cash in his pockets and purchased a plot of Montrachet, considered the finest white wine vineyard in the world.  This was the beginning of the Domaine’s most famous wine, Ramonet Montrachet.

 

Pierre eventually handed over the reins to his son André, who died in 2011, and subsequently to his grandchildren, Noël and Jean-Claude, who had tended the family vineyards since 1984.

Domaine Ramonet is undoubtedly regarded amongst the top producers of white wines in the Côte de Beaune, from their superb Chassagne-Montrachet Villages and Premiers Crus to masterpiece Grands Crus.  Although the estate is best known for its whites, it also produces distinctive and remarkable reds.

 

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Vineyards

Domaine Ramonet produces 24 Appellation wines from 40 Acres located primarily near the hamlets of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet in the southern part of the Côte de Beaune region in Burgundy.  Parcels of vineyards were progressively acquired since the first acquisition in 1934, the most recent being Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise.

 

The Montrachet vineyard, at an altitude of 820 to 885 feet, produces the finest expression of the Chardonnay grape anywhere on earth. It owes its name to Mont-Rachet or Bald Hill as the soils are poor, thin and lie on hard limestones traversed by a layer of reddish marls, with the best slope in its area versus the other neighboring Grands Crus.  Its origin dates back to the Middle Ages in the 15th Century.  Its status was first recognized as a Grand Cru in 1937, which was subsequently cemented in the mid-20th century with a number of great vintages.

Buying into a Montrachet plot of land was usually something that only the most wealthy and ambitious producers attempted, but Ramonet’s purchase in 1978 is one of the most legendary stories in Burgundy.  When Père Ramonet, 72 years of age, grandfather of Noël & Jean-Claude, walked into a lawyer’s office in Beaune, he paid entirely in cash and then excused himself to return to the familiarity of his vineyards and cellar.

 

The Bâtard-Montrachet vineyard is located East and beneath Montrachet, at an altitude of 785-825 feet. Its name has a very funny legend, when the Lord of Montrachet was depicted as a knight who had  a child bâtard or bastard out of wedlock. The most logical explanation must lay with the fact that this vineyard is located underneath Montrachet, thus of lower rank.

Ramonet’s Bâtard is one of the most notorious wine of the Domaine. It is produced from brown limestone soils which are deeper and more clayey at the bottom of the slope.  The limestone rocks give it refinement and acidity while the clay provides its dense and powerful character. It exhibits restrained but elegant notes of pain grillé, orchard fruit of citrus and apple, with gorgeous purity, minerality and a stunning length that ends in an amazingly intense finish. Recommended to serve after 5 to 7 years of aging, up to 20 years. Vines were

The bottling of the Domaine comes from 20 rows of vines located on the geological fault named mirroir de faille. Undoubtedly the top wine of the estate, it is the most intense, expressive and complex, by combining the weight and punch of the Bâtard with the sophistication of the Chevalier.  A vinous nectar with a tight structure when young, Ramonet Montrachet epitomizes what Chardonnay has best to offer with aging, up to 20 years.  Vines were planted in 1937.

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Winemaking

Since 1983, Noël  and Jean-Claude have taken all responsibilities for the Domaine, with Noël typically concentrating more on commercial tasks while Jean-Claude has been more focused on the vineyard and the cellar.  Many labor activities are often accomplished as a joint effort between the two brothers, as Noël summarizes: “A Ramonet does it all, in the vineyard or in the cellar, from graft to bottle.”

 

The legacy of learning from their father and grandfather is always acknowledged by Noël and Jean-Claude, who often mention the past generations as the foundation and source of their knowledge. Jean-Claude often says: “We share the same passion and energy and we always strive to do as best as we can to produce wines of the highest possible quality so the Ramonet bottlings continue to  provide great experiences and good memories to consumers.”

 

One of the main consideration for the vineyards is to keep the vine age high and yields low, in order to optimize the raw material and quality of the grapes obtained at harvest.  As a result, the Domaine produces most of its wines from vines of 12 to 50 years of age.  The Chardonnay is Guyot-pruned while the Pinot Noir using the Cordon de Royat method.

 

The vinification of the whites starts in tanks, where the must is eventually chaptalized.  The wines are subsequently transferred to French oak barrels from two regions: the Allier, to give finesse, or the Vosges, for power and flavor.  The proportion of new wood is variable, 10 to 15 percent for the village wines of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, 30 to 40% for the Premiers Crus and 50% for the Grands Crus.  Stirring of the lees or Bâtonnage is done typically three to four times, racking takes place after malolactic fermentation.  Some wines are bottled after 12 months, but it is not unusual for most to spend a portion of the second winter in barrel.  As a result, Ramonet’s cellars have enough space to accommodate two vintages.  The choice of casks (from ten different coopers) and the ageing time are decided based on the acidity, taste and structure of the wines.  Before bottling, the Domaine does not proceed systematically with fining or filtration of their whites.

 

The vinification of the reds begins with the maceration and fermentation in cement vats, typically for 8 to 10 days, with the natural yeast fermentation starting slowly following a few days of cold maceration.  Temperature of fermentation is kept low until the last few days, to help fix the color and the softening of the tannins.  Punch-downs and pump-overs are limited, before a short ageing period of 12 to 15 months in barrels, in order for the wines to retain their freshness and fruity characters.  The portion of new oak is also kept to a minimal with 10-20% for the Village wines and 30-40% for the Premiers Crus.  Bottling takes place during the second winter.

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18 different wines with 182 vintages

People

  • Noël Ramonet

    "A Ramonet does it all, in the vineyard or in the cellar, from graft to bottle.”
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