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

Nice to be able to try this with a bit of age on it.  Deeper cherry red in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherry lozenges, slight mushrooms and dust.  On the palate, this has a full bodied, juicy texture.  Cherry candies/lozenges.  The bottle lists 14.6% abv but it seems higher both in texture and warmth on the finish.  That said, this is enjoyable and probably better as a cocktail than at the dinner table.  It could probably hold up with a grilled steak.  It probably should be drunk in the next few years.  

This is a pretty classic RRV Pinot Noir.  It skirts the line between elegance and brawn nicely.  A nice value for a Pinot Noir of this quality.  Ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has sour cherries, slight root beer, and baking spices.  Really a great texture.  Creamy but with some cut to it.  It dances on the palate which has plenty of cherry fruit and sunshine.  Slight char note underlying the fruit.  Nice finish.  This is young and needs some cellaring or air.  It unwinds a bit in the glass but gives the impression of more to come.  It should be cellared for three to five more ye

Interesting Trivia bit - The original owners of Lanmark were descendants of John Deere of Tractor fame.  Overlook was the name of John Deere's home in Illinois.  The wine is sourced from various locations around Sonoma County.  This is an outstanding value in Chardonnay.  They produce quite a bit of it yet manage to be very consistent from vintage to vintage and bottle to bottle.  It barrel fermented and spends 25% in new French oak.  The lees are stirred every two weeks as it goes thru full malolactic fermentation.  It is green/gold in color.  The nose is very nice with vanilla and peaches

This is a new winery for me to try.  Golden in color.  The nose shows vanilla with peaches.  On the palate, this is medium bodied.  Some peach and grapefruit.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  Overall, a very pleasant Chardonnay.  It drinks well on its own now and will work with lighter fare.  Drink this over the next five to seven years.  

This is starting to show some age.  For me, that is a great thing, but others mileage may vary.  There is also a fair amount of oak present, so oakaphobes, be warned.  Green/golden in color.  The nose has lots of fresh cut timber, some spice, grapefruit and lemon cream.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  Lush texture but enough cut to keep it lively.  Lots of lemons and lemon peel.  Long finish.  This showed better on night 2 with a bit more air to round things out.  It is drinking well now and should conitnue to drink well for another seven to ten years depending how you like older wine

This was the winner of a recent tasting of California Chardonnays.  Very impressive showing and much better than expected.  I have always like their reds, but I believe this was the first Chardonnay I have tried from them.  Green gold in color.  The nose is really interesting with ginger ale notes along with nice minerality and slight pears.  On the palate, this is clean with great minerality.  Just a slight kiss of vanilla.  Deep with a nice complexity.  This didn't change much over night two.  It should make great drinking over the next five to seven years but likely longer if well stored

Another quality wine from Jamie Kutch.  For the quality, this is a very good value.  Obviously very young, this showed better on day 2 although it was outstanding right on opening.  Green gold in color.  The nose has slight vanilla and lemons.  A bit of baking spices.  On the palate, this has a lemonade quality on day 1 and comes off as slightly sweet.  It all comes more into focus with air on day 2 showing dry with more depth.  Lemons and minerals.  A lovely texture.  Long finish.  This will need some time until peak, say three to five years and then should drink well for another ten to tw

In a recent tasting of California Chardonnays, this was my favorite.  It should be noted that I liked it more than most in the group and that is, I am sure, a style thing.  This is a rich wine that is really firing on all cylinders though starting to show some middle age.  It was older than most of the wines at the tasting, so that may account for some of the various opinions.  Anyway, I found it outstanding.  Yellow/green in color, clear and bright.  The nose has grapefruit, vanilla, and citrus.  On the palate, this has a great, lush texture.  Creamy.  The grapefruit carries thru with a ni

Tasted this as part of a virtual wine tasting during the Covid 19 Shelter in Place Order.  These tastings are a fun and informative way to try some wines.  This is a blend of 23 different vineyards to make an affordably priced wine.  For those seeking a wine in this style, this offers a nice value.  it has a medium to deep gold color with some green swirls.  The nose has plenty of up front toasty oak along with a bit of lemon chiffon and a hint of baked apple.  On the palate, this has s very nice, slightly oily texture.  The palate is similar to the nose.  The oak is out front, but there is

This is my favorite wine from all of the Carlisle offerings.  And, it seems that Mike Officer really seems to excel in "off" vintages such as 2011 or 2017.  While still very young, this is a beautiful wine.  Deep purple in color, a thin ruby rim.  The nose has black cherries, plums, slight cedar/bramble and just a hint of roasted herbs.  On the palate, the texture is the thing.  Almost seamless.  Of course, it is also delicious, if still young.  Firmer tannins for a Zin.  It takes about an hour or two to open.  This went great with some homemade pizza.  It should continue to improve for the