Ron Rubin grew up with the wine industry and followed a love of wine to UC Davis in 1971 and 1972, studying viticulture and enology. Another 40 years would go by before Ron would realize his dream of owning and operating his own winery. We’ve reviewed previous vintages of Ron’s wines, and they were very good. You can read about them by clicking here.
We have two current wines from Ron Rubin in for review. These are made with the traditional grapes of Burgundy, and that is an inspiration for the winemaking. Let’s see what’s in the bottles.
2020 Ron Rubin Winery Pam’s Un-oaked Chardonnay – this is made with grapes from several
different cool, coastal vineyards, all of which are family owned. In this case the vineyards are in Clarksburg and Lodi. The growing season was mild, and it was an early harvest. The juice sees nothing but stainless steel. Our thoughts:
The wine is light golden yellow in color. It has a nose of Delicious Apple, pear, lemon/lime citrus notes and some melon. Overall it is a pretty nose with bright fruit. On the palate you are surprised by the richness and body that this wine achieves. A hint of sweetness accompanies the ripe fruit flavors. It is smooth, clean and well balanced. The finish is long and satisfying, leaving you wanting more. At $14 this is simply a great value wine. It really is delicious.
2018 Ron Rubin Winery Russian River Valley Pinot Noir – this juice is made from a mix
of estate grown as well as local, family owned vineyard grapes. It is hand picked, saw a five day cold soak, and then went into open top fermenters. It was aged in French Oak barrels. The growing season was long in 2018, with a cool August, longer hang time and a late harvest. The result was fuller flavor development in the grapes. Our impressions:
The wine is a medium cherry color, with a nose full of berries and cherries, along with an herbal quality and toasted oak with a hint of smoke. It’s a big nose, and it blasts out of the glass. On the palate it is more refrained and focused than the nose would imply, and it is a bit lean. Tannins are medium, the acid is brisk and it is both balanced and quite long in finish. The fruit does persist throughout. It is also a great food wine. $25 and a good value there for Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.
These wines are similar to the previous vintages, and represent solid values. We’ll add them to our Value List.
A votre santé!
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