Beautiful Pinot Noir.  Ruby with some purple swirls.  The nose is great with bright cherries contrasted by an earthy, damp forest floor note.  Also some spice.  On the palate, this is tight but quite good.  It needs at least five years or a long decant.  Cherries, macerated cherries, layered tightly with damp earth and spice.  Complex.  Good balance.  Long finish.  Went quite well with food.  

Wow.  This is smoking right now.  Probably at or very close to peak but should stay there for a decade.  Ruby in color.  The nose is great with cherries, sandalwood, dust and a bit of dry earthiness.  On the palate, this has great balance.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  Complex with layers of cherries, slight dried cherries, spice and earth.  It does have a slight roasted quality but not in the fruit just a sort or arid quality (terroir?).  Absolutely great with food.  This wine is not inexpensive but worth buying 2 bottles; one to drink soon and one to lay down.  

This is the first bottling by Kutch from this AVA.  Perhaps not quite the focus as the Santa Cruz mountain version but still quite nice.  That may be to being a different vintage or AVA.  This is golden in color.  The nose has pears, slight vanilla, some lemon and a slightly sweaty note to it.  On the palate, this is of course young.  The pears and slight lemons come thru.  Some acidity but not a lot.  It will be good to revisit this and see if it comes more together.  That said, it is delicious now with depth to it.  Worked very well at the dinner table.  

This is a top of the line Muscadet.  It was $25 back on release and I doubt it costs much more than that today.  Muscadets are some of the best values in the wine world.  At age 16, this one was gorgeous.  Medium golden in color.  The nose has crushed shells and a salinity to it.  Very nice.  On the palate, this has a wonderful texture.  Its all about the minerals.  Complex and deep.  Great with lighter foods.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  

For around $30, this is a reasonably priced actual Champagne (not just a sparkling wine).  Light golden in color with a good amount of small bubbles.  The nose is a bit chalky with some green apples.  Very clean.  On the palate, the apples carry thru.  Good acidity.  Worked well with food.  Good value.

My last bottle from this now defunct winery.  Too bad as they made very good wine.  This bottle certainly was.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, roasted herbs and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this has juicy acidity.  Black raspberry fruit.  Light tannins.  Some black olives.  Good finish.  Seems close to peak now.  Works well with food.  

First these were super popular and then you couldn't give them away.  The fact is, there are some excellent Australian Shiraz and many of the cellar just fine.  If you liked them young, you will probably like them with some age.  At age 16, this one is humming along and drinking great.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries.

Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this is mature.  Some amount of depth with layers of earth, black raspberries and bacon fat.  Nice acidity.  Very food friendly.  Good finish.  Very good wine.  Drink in the next five to seven years.  

This is an under $20 bottle of California Cab.  Well worth the price in the grand scheme of things.  Purple/ruby in color.  The nose has some cassis, dust and cedar.  On the palate, this is easy drinking.  Not complex but tasty and works with food.  Probably needs to be drunk in the next few years.  

This wine has taken a long time to come around but it is now in a great drinking window.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meats, leather, slight floral notes and black pepper.  On the palate, this is complex with juicy acidity.  Black raspberries, charcoal, black pepper and slight roasted meats.  Great texture.  Long finish.  Very food friendly especially spicy foods.  It is close to peak and should stay here for 5 to 8 years or more.