Golden in color.  The nose is a bit musty with slight sugary notes.  With air it cleans a bit and shows lychees.  A different bottle opened a couple of days before also showed this mustiness and the thought of TCA was there.  Leaving it for two days, the wine cleaned up nicely, so that might be an issue with this bottling.  On the palate, a wonderful oily texture.  Some orange peel.  Turns slightly bitter on the finish.  Overall, this is a complex wine.  Quite food friendly.  It is a bit sweet but just a bit.  

Light silvery gold in color.  The nose has slight lychee nuts and a bit of grapefruit.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet but has a sugary quality to it.  A bit of grapefruit as well.  Long finish that turns dry.  Would work well with the right foods, especially spicy foods.  Nice value at $18.  

10% Gewurztraminer, 30% Pinot Blanc, 30% Pinot Gris, 30% Riesling.  This is made in the traditional method.  It does not appear to be labelled as Cremant.  Light silvery/yellow/white/gold in color.  Very pale.  A nice head of medium sized bubbles.  The nose is nice with a bit of seltzer and slight lemon.  On the palate, this has slight lime peel with some juniper berry (Gin) and other herbals.  Not a lot of depth but very refreshing.  Slightly short on the finish.  This is easy drinking sparkling wine.  Dry and very food friendly.  At $16, this is a nice value.  

Light silvery gold in color.  A fair amount of medium sized bubbles.  The nose is clean with slight citrus and minerals.  Also a bit of a burnt note.  On the palate, this is slightly bitter.  Easy drinking.  Not a lot of depth but would be a perfect mix for mimosas or other sparkling mixed drinks.  

This was a very good value and is drinking very well.  Around $20.  Light golden in color.  The nose is more restrained with nice lychees, peaches and minerality.  On the palate, this is slightly viscous and slightly sweet.  None of the bitter almond that sometimes shows up in Gewurztraminer.  Peaches and minerals.  Best when not served to cold.  Perhaps around $60F.  The wine gets more expressive and rounder.  Worked with a wide variety of foods.  This is a bit more restrained than many of the other Gewurztraminers in this price range which is probably a good thing.  It works more as a tot

This had some odd label and I am not sure if we ever properly unwrapped it.  In any event, this is one of the best 2011's from Sonoma and indeed, California that I have had.  Deep magenta in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black cherries, cedar, and graphite.  There are firm tannins still.  A supple texture.  14.1% alcohol.  Cassis and very concentrated on the palate.  Delicious and no ripeness issues.  Long finish.  Worked well with eharty foods and some pungent cheeses.  There are always new wineries emerging on the scene but this is one to watch.  

Really great showing for this wine.  Purple in color, slight line of ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, coffee, and cedar.  Complex.  On the palate, this is awesome.  It is a big wine but with a nice elegance at this point.  Cassis layered with coffee and earth.  Long finish.  This is delicious and while it is the kind of wine that borders on excessive, as it matures it has calmed down and is integrating nicely.  Still young, this  needs another decade until maturity and has a couple more at the top after that.  It is delicious now and worked quite well with an assortment of cheeses (an

This was an off bottle.  It had been purchased via Acker-Merrill auction and probably at some point in its life, exposed to excessive heat.  Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable as a wine, even if not what it should have been.  Ruby in color.  The nose has cherries, brown sugar, dried cherries and raisins.  On the palate, this is a bit disjointed but has some nice cherry flavors.  Still has some light tannins.  Some alcohol showing.  Finishes with dried cherries.  Another example why provenance is so important.  No score is assigned.  

Ruby in color, purple swirls.  The nose is dusty with dried roses, some tar and cherries.  Classic and very nice.  On the palate, this is deep, complex and layered.  Layers of cherries, dried cherries, forest floor and tar.  It explodes ans it unwinds in the glass.  Still youthful as it closes in on maturity.  Long finish.  Great with a creamy pasta dish, and probably almost every other food as well.  This is one of the top Barolos out there and great in almost every vintage, but this vintage is right there again!