Sonoma County

• Alexander Valley
• Bennett Valley
• Best of Sonoma
• Dry Creek Valley
• Fort Ross/Seaview
• Moon Mountain
• Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak
• Russian River Valley
• Sonoma Coast
• Sonoma Mountain
• Sonoma Valley
• Knights Valley

This is a very nice Sonoma County Chardonnay.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with lemons, green apples, slight vanilla, light toast, and slight buttery note.  Full bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, lots of yellow grapefruit notes with some vanilla.  Plenty of depth.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own but will work well with sea food or vegetarian dishes.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

This is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah from Sonoma County.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, slight vanilla, spice, leather and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this took about 30 minutes to open and then drank quite well.  Nice black cherry fruit with some black raspberries along with a bit if spice and slight cedar note.  There is some depth as it opens in the glass.  Nice finish.  This drinks well on its own and will work well with meats and chicken.  It went well with a Veggie Burger.  Drin

This is the basic Pinot Noir from the home winery of winemaker Thomas Rivers-Brown.  An excellent value in Pinot Noir.  Deep garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries and sour cherries with some char and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is young but delicious.  Some depth.  Lots of cherry and sour cherry notes.  Long finish.  This will improve with a few years in the cellar though it drinks nicely now.  Drink over the next ten years.  Nice on its own, this would work well with Roasted Chicken.  

Chalk Hill celebrated 50 years in 2022. One way to celebrate is with this 2020 Chardonnay. Comprised of nine different Chardonnay clones, the result is a creamy, smooth wine with a wonderful viscosity that fills the palate with notes of crème brûlée, honeysuckle, poached pair, red delicious apple, vanilla, light resin, and lime meringue. Though aged in oak for a scant 10 months only 35% of that oak was new, so that you still have a moderate classic oaky butter quality, but not over the top. This is a very enticing Chardonnay. ORIGIN: Russian River Valley. ALCOHOL: 15%

This is my personal favorite of the Zinfandels in the Carlisle lineup.  It seems a bit softer yet plenty of fruit and depth.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, char and spice.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black cherries and spice.  Great texture.  Good balance.  Long finish.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  Great on its own, this is a nice match with a (Veggie) Burger.  

Very nice showing for this wine.  It has long been a steakhouse restaurant favorite yet its fans remain consistent and loyal.  It was a pleasure to drink this and it had been some time since enjoying this wine.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose is nice with cassis, cherries, cedar and spice.  It has a nice sinewy texture.  Softer with light tannins.  On the palate, there is some depth/complexity with cassis and char.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue to drink well for another eight to twelve years.  It drinks well on its own, and would certainly work we

Like any good cuvée, this blend of Pinot Noir clones 115, 667, 777, Calera and Mt. Eden showcases how a blend can exceed its individual components. A mix of fruit and earthy notes, this cuvée showcases Sonoma’s premier Pinot region, the Russian River Valley. There is subtle black cherry, red raspberry, rhubarb, cola, green tea leaf, boysenberry,  and firm tannins and an almost subversive acidity. The oak program is judicious and still allows the fruit to shine through while the oak provides some structure for the wine on the mid-palate and concentrated finish. 486 cases.

A delicious cooler climate Syrah.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight bacon fat and black olives.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is going strong.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with some black pepper.  Good balance.  Long finish.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  Nice on its own, but works well with food.  It went well with a vegetarian sausage casserole.  

Ladera launched in 1998 and has consistently produced impressive wines. For their 2020 Chardonnay, they aged the grapes sur lie in new French oak barrels for 15 months (58% of which were new), which means this definitely offers a creamier style, however it is well balanced so you get a classic Chardonnay, but a silky smooth one. This offers light pear, lemon chiffon, lime meringue, candied almond, slight resin, and hints of guava. This is a lovely, tactile wine that drinks beautifully with, or without food. 289 cases. ORIGIN: Russian River Valley.  ALCOHOL: 14.1%

This is made from grapes on the terrace just south of the winery.  At age 21, it is drinking beautifully.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, cassis and spice.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate black cherries and cassis.  Clean.  Nice complexity.  Long finish. This should drink well for another five to eight years.  It will work well with Lasagna.