Consistently one of the great values in California Syrah.  Deep purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, slight char, black pepper and roasted herbs.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has a great texture.  Black raspberry fruit with underlying meatiness and char.  Delicious.  Nice finish.  This will drink well over the next ten to twelve years.  A nice match with a burger or ribs off the grill.  

There is not a lot of great Riesling bottles from California, but this one is consistently pretty good and perhaps a bit better in this vintage.  Light gold/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with apples and some minerality.  Light to medium bodied.  On the palate, this is dry with moderately crisp acidity.  Green apple notes carry thru to the palate.  Nice finish.  This should drink well over the next seven to ten years.  This can be consumed with or without food.  Shellfish would be a nice choice.  

This is the basic Riesling from one of the best producers of Riesling in the world.  Light green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with pineapples, apples and wet rocks.  Medium bodied with some viscosity.  Slightly sweet.  On thee palate, flavors of pineapple with great minerality.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should easily do another seven to ten years.  It drinks great on its own and would work well with a lighter salad.  

From one of the top producers in this part of the world,  His Valpolicellas are better and more serious than most Amarones (and more expensive, too).  This is a blend of 70% Corvina,  20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina and 5% Oseleta grapes.  Purple in color, opaque and flat.  This is a dense, concentrated wine.  The nose has cherries, cedar, leather, dark chocolate and a hint of VA (just enough to raise the aromatics without being off putting).  Full bodied.  Concentrated.  Firm tannins with a lush texture.  On the palate, this is teeth staining and delicious.  Cherries, black cherries, with some

This is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot.   Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, cedar, spice and char.    Lush, velvety texture but lots of vibrancy.  On the palate, cassis and blueberry fruit with underlying tobacco and char.  Long finish.  This is still developing and will be for a decade.  That said it is delicious now and will continue to drink well for another fifteen to twenty years.  It drinks very well on its own and will work with bigger, fattier foods such as prime rib or a roasted veggie pizza.  

Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, roasted herbs, slight burnt rubber, and a bit of cherries.  Full bodied.  Rich texture.  Lots of vibrancy.  On the palate, good fruit but not as boisterous as some vintages.  Black raspberries, black cherries, with underlying char and roasted meats.  Nice finish.  This is obviously young but drinking well.  It should mature for another five to ten years and drink well for eight to twelve after that.  It drinks great on its own and will work for big flavored foods.  Roasted chicken would work well.  

The basic Châteauneuf from this producer from a very HOT vintage.  Truthfully, I was surprised to find this in the cellar and wasn't sure it would have held up.  Wrong.  It drank great.  Perhaps not the complexity of other vintages, but lots of delicious fruit made for a very nice drink.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose offers up plums, black cherries, some spice, and a bit of black olive.  Medium bodied.  Tannins all resolved.  Full bodied, smooth texture.  On the palate, plums, cherries and black cherries with slight char.  Nice finish.  This needs to be consumed sooner than

From the Larkmead Vineyard and made by Thomas Rivers Brown.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar,  blueberries, and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this has juicy cassis fruit with some black cherries and some blueberries over cedar and char.  Still quite young, this should improve over the next eight to ten years and drink well for ten to fifteen after that.  Delicious and complex.  Right now this drinks better on its own and will need big flavors to stand up to it but with time it will settle down.  For now, braised short ribs would be

This is a wine from the right bank of Bordeaux appellation Pomerol that was new to me.  It is 100% Merlot.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, plums, black raspberries, cedar and spice.  Medium bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, lots of red and some purple fruits with layers of cedar and slight earthiness.  This should continue to mature and improve over the next decade and drink well for ten to twelve more after that.  This would go well with roasted eggplant dishes.  

 This is the second wine of Château Tour Baladoz.  It is produced made from the youngest vines and consists of 90% Merlot.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight milk chocolate and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, there are light tannins.  The cherries and chocolate come thru with slight earthiness.  Nice finish.  Not profound but tasty and easy drinking.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  This drinks well on its own and would be a nice match with stuffed peppers.