Santa Cruz

One of the best California Pinot Noir's I have had.  Middle of the road in style for Cal Pinot.  Deep ruby in color with some purple hues.  Mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, black cherries, spice, some smoke and slight earthiness.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, lots of delicious cherry and black cherry fruit.  Deep and tight layers that unwind in the glass.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This was pop and pour and it kept opening and evolving all night.  Drink over the next ten to twenty years.  Great on its own, this worked well with pasta with mushro

Checked in on this recently.  At age 11, it is still drinking beautifully.  It took about an hour to open and then soared.  Medium golden color, clear and bright.  The nose has the vanilla note along with lemon cream.  Full bodied.  Showing more depth and complexity although less vibrancy than in its youth.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This went great with Hungarian Mushroom Goulash.  

Rhys makes some of the best Pinot Noir's in California.  This is bigger in fruit but with a Burgundy styling.  Garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight black cherries, spice and just a hint of pine.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Cherries and some black cherries with an underlying char and forest floor.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This is still drinking youthfully.  It should continue to so do for another ten to fifteen years.  Nice on its own, this works well with poultry or  meats, but would be nice with Salmon as well.  

This producer is more known for their Pinots and Chards but now also produces an excellent Cab.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, spice, bell pepper and slight tobacco.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries and bell pepper.  Some depth.  Nice texture.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and should drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  Nice on its own, this will work well with Szechuan beef.

This is in a great place.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight sour cherries and spice.  Medium bodied with light spice.  On the palate, this is starting to show a nice complexity.  On the young size, this is getting close to maturity but has plenty of time left.  Cherries, char, sour cherries, and spice.  Nice finish.  This should drink well over the next ten to fifteen years.  A nice match to roasted chicken.

This is a "second" wine from Mount Eden, one of California's premier wine producers.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has apples, apple juice, and a slight lemony note.  Medium to full bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  On the palate, there is a sweet tart note with a slight oxidized lemony note.  Moderate acidity.  This is very mature,  not likely to be a pristine bottle, this showed much older than six years.  

This wine has aged brilliantly.  Golden in color, slightly deeper, clear and bright.  The nose is great with vanilla, lemon crème, and a slight butterscotch note.  Full bodied.  Deep and complex.  Good balance.  On the palate, the vanilla and lemon are joined with some grapefruits.  Long finish.  Delicious.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

Always one of the best chardonnay's made anywhere!  This vintage is no exception.  Light golden in color with slight green hues.  The nose is classic Rhys:  Vanilla, lemon cream, and slight bakers spices.  Full bodied.  This was drinking well from the beginning.  The palate has lemon cream and vanilla with a touch of spice/oak.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This drinks great on its own and perfect with a Caprese salad.  In my experience, these drink well for a few years and then shut down a bit before re-emerging at age eight or so.  They drink well for another ten after that.  

This is an excellent value in wine that comes from south of  San Francisco.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, char, and black pepper.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, the black raspberry fruit comes thru.  Some complexity.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and works well with meat, pork or fowl dishes.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

This is a newer wine from Rhys.  It has some similarities to the Rhys style, but it should take a few vintages for Kevin Harvey to zero in on what he is looking for.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has lemons and vanilla along with spices.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is young, but drinking well.  Lemons and vanilla comes thru.  At this stage, it will be a difficult food match but as it ages it should go nice with salmon or other "steak" fish.  Drink over the next ten years.